Arts Blog

We are thrilled to announce the inaugural participants of All Classical Radio’s Access Recording Project. The first-of-its-kind initiative will invite Pacific Northwest artists to make use of the station’s Irving Levin Performance Hall and James DePreist Recording Studio to develop creative projects and advance their careers, at no cost.

“Through the Access Recording Project, All Classical Radio is removing barriers for local creatives, artists, and organizations,” says President and CEO Suzanne Nance. “This program opens the doors to world-class opportunities — performing, recording, and documenting their work as artists, storytellers, and musicians. Our goal is to share resources that spark lasting, positive change for regional artists and our community.”

Selected from 40+ applicants by a panel of community leaders, the three awardees represent varied backgrounds, ambitions, and activities. All projects in the Access Recording Project’s pilot year will be completed in 2025.

The Immigrant Story

Known for documenting and sharing stories about immigrants living in the Pacific Northwest to promote empathy and advance inclusivity in our communities, the Immigrant Story will use the station’s studios to produce a high-quality recording of an inspiring commission. Fusing traditional sounds of South West Asia with Western Classical music, their still unnamed groundbreaking 45-minute work is a powerful cross-cultural expression of community and creativity.

“At The Immigrant Story, we ask: what becomes of the traditions immigrants carry with them? Do they remain unchanged, quietly preserved? Do they fade away? Or do they evolve—fusing with new influences, passed to the next generation, and reimagined into something profoundly original? In this work, we witness that transformation: where Indian classical and Western classical traditions meet, not to replace one another, but to create something entirely new—something born of many cultures, yet rooted here. It is a shared creation, uniquely ours, and deeply worth cherishing,” says Sankar Raman, Founder and Board President of the Immigrant Story.

Nikita Istratov

18-year-old award-winning instrumentalist Nikita Istratov has been playing the piano since the age of 6. Now in his first year of college, he will perform and record a recital in All Classical’s Irving Levin Performance Hall, showcasing the music of Sofia Gubaidulina. He aims to draw greater attention to the achievements of women composers in classical music. The program will explore Gubaidulina’s innovative harmonic language and traditional musical forms, and how 19th-century romantic Slavic cultural elements influenced her music. Nikita’s recital will showcase Gubaidulina’s Chaconne (1962), her most significant work for solo piano and her first commissioned work.

Nikita shares: “As a young musician, collaborating with a major arts organization like All Classical Radio is an exciting opportunity to amplify my artistic voice. This project allows me to bring greater attention to an intriguing composer I’ve recently discovered, and to generally advocate for broader recognition of female classical composers. I’m grateful to All Classical Radio for helping me to realize my vision. The Access Recording Project supports my mission of connecting with larger audiences and sharing, through musical performance, perspectives that I believe deserve to be heard.”

nonesuch.reedquintet

Based in Eugene, OR, the nonesuch.reedquintet is a professional chamber ensemble dedicated to inspiring the next generation of music students. Studio time will be used to record music for a new children’s book designed to stimulate curiosity and participation in their music and arts education efforts. Jimbo’s Dreamland includes narration set to music by beloved composers including George Gershwin and Claude Debussy, performed by the quintet. The book will feature words and artwork by a commissioned children’s book author and illustrator based in the Pacific Northwest.

“The resources provided by All Classical Radio’s Access Recording Project offer us a valuable opportunity to realize a core component of our project, Jimbo’s Dreamland,” says David Kwek, founding member and Board Secretary of nonesuch.reedquintet.

“Our mission to provide accessible music education is strengthened by the work we’ve done—and will continue to do—in schools across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The publication of Jimbo’s Dreamland will enable nonesuch.reedquintet to expand our reach to classrooms around the world.”