Since arriving here from North Carolina in 2007, I’ve traveled all around the state and have fallen in love with the high deserts of Eastern Oregon and the magically blue waters of Crater Lake. I also relish a stormy weekend at the Oregon Coast.
I adore the natural beauty of Oregon as much as I cherish the cultural beauty of our region. I could easily find myself in a concert hall every night of the week! I enjoy it all: early music, contemporary music, symphonic music and opera. So as not to exhaust myself I deliberately set aside time to play nerdy board games with friends, or will reserve a lazy afternoon to read a big novel. (I adore Franzen, Eugenides, Chabon and the like.)
I had once hoped to be a professional French horn player – I attended Northwestern University with that aspiration - but I graduated with a Bachelors of Music in Arts Administration. I still tootle my horn occasionally, and also enjoy picking up a ukulele from time to time.
Contact Christa Wessel
Zayan Akmal is a 16-year old junior at Sunset High School, and was a finalist in the recent Portland Youth Philharmonic Piano Concerto Competition. (He’ll be playing a movement of the Scriabin Piano Concerto with PYP’s Conservatory Orchestra next season.) The humanities are deeply important to Zayan and he enjoys communicating his feelings through both poetry and musical… More
Alesandra Pardini is a 17-year old junior at Lincoln High School. She is a self-professed “opera nerd,” but choir also plays a huge role in her life. She has been part of the Pacific Youth Choir since the age of 5. We’ll learn how choir got Alesandra through a very dark part of her life… More
Adam Broce is a 17-year old cellist who began playing only 5 years ago. In this episode of “On Deck” Adam talks about the pros and cons of starting an instrument at a relatively late age. He is passionate about music (he is a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony), and says he wants to… More
Jenna Tu is a 16-year old pianist who is one of the 8 finalists in the Portland Youth Philharmonic’s piano concerto competition. (This competition – which is a collaboration between PYP and Portland Piano International – is open to the public, and takes place on January 25th at Lincoln Hall at Portland State University.) In… More
Jesse Nieman is a 15-year old musician (he plays a LOT of instruments) who has lately been focusing his energy on the piano. And it has paid off: Jesse is one of 8 finalists in the Portland Youth Philharmonic’s piano concerto competition. (This competition – which is a collaboration between PYP and Portland Piano International… More
Lilia Biehl is a 16-year old junior at St. Mary’s Academy who has two sides to her musical self: a singer and a tuba player! She performs with both the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and the Pacific Youth Choir. Though she has been a singer since childhood it took her a while to find the tuba. … More
Willow Klug is a senior at Hockinson High School in Brush Prairie, Washington. She plays French horn in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and credits MYS with deepening and expanding her love of classical music. Willow is also practicing saying “yes” to things that push her outside her comfort zone.
Emmanuel Huang is a 16-year old high school junior who was born in Ghana, West Africa. Adopted by a music-loving family in Camas, Washington, Emmanuel is now a percussionist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. You can learn more about Emmanuel’s journey and is deep love of classical music in this episode of “On Deck with Young… More
Leo Marchyok is a freshman at Cleveland High School, and performs with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. From the moment he first heard the oboe, he was entranced. He has since come to love music so much he simply cannot imagine his life without it.
Malini Ganguly is a 17-year soprano whose life has been so enriched by music that she’s advocating for arts education as her platform in the Miss Oregon Teen USA pageant. She believes education in the arts can help increase comprehension in all subjects, as well as help facilitate a finer education system. In this episode… More