Programs & Hosts

On Deck with Young Musicians

On Deck with Young Musicians

Saturdays at 5pm PT

On Deck with Young Musicians is an inspirational weekly interview segment that celebrates and showcases the incredibly talented young musicians who live and perform in the Pacific Northwest: the young people who are shaping the future of classical music. Created and hosted by Christa Wessel, select episodes of On Deck are also hosted by Adam Eccleston, Raúl Gómez-Rojas, and Lisa Lipton.  

Tune in Saturdays at 5:00 PM PT, and revisit past interviews using the links below or by following On Deck on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

If you know of a young musician who should be profiled for On Deck, please email Christa Wessel at christa@allclassical.org.  

On Deck with Young Musicians is made possible in part by support from the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.  


James Lee

November 16, 2024

On Deck with James Lee

James Lee is a 16-year-old classical and jazz pianist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. A junior at Wilsonville High School, James is an active member of the Symphonic Band/Pep Band as a percussionist, the Jazz Band as a pianist and drummer, and regularly accompanies classmates for OMEA competitions. This summer, he graduated from the OMTA Syllabus program… More


November 9, 2024

On Deck with Della Simone

Della Simone is a jazz, pop, and classically trained vocalist hailing from Portland, Oregon. She has traveled all over the world with the Portland State Chamber choir, of which she is currently co-president. She performs regularly at local venues including The Old Church (TOC) Concert Hall, Mendelssohn’s, and Corkscrew Wine Bar. She is set to… More


November 2, 2024

On Deck with Andrew Lee

Andrew Lee is a 17-year-old junior at Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon. He has been playing the violin for ten years and currently studies with Carol Sindell. Andrew joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic in 2021, serving as assistant principal second violin, and before that, as the concertmaster of PYCO. As a soloist, he was… More


Natalie Alexander

October 26, 2024

On Deck with Natalie Alexander

Natalie Alexander is a 17-year old clarinetist with both the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and Portland Youth Philharmonic, and she envisions a future full of music.  She wants to do it all: orchestra, chamber music, teaching.  In this episode of On Deck, Lisa Lipton talks with Natalie about her interest in women composers, about leadership, and… More


October 12, 2024

On Deck with Rohan Focer

Rohan Focer is a Senior at Tigard high school and has been playing the flute for 6 years. He has been a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony‘s Flute Ensemble for two years now and took lessons from Denise Westby.  He has participated in the Flute Alliance Flute Boot Camp for two summers and enjoys… More


Annie Rhew

October 5, 2024

On Deck with Annie Rhew

Annie Rhew is a 16-year cellist with the Portland Youth Philharmonic.  She’s been playing cello since age 8 and has since won MANY awards.  Annie was also the “Healing Through Music” volunteer at OHSU for 2 summers and is currently working as a music therapy volunteer at a local hospice care group.  Lisa Lipton chats… More


Marcus Hanlon

September 29, 2024

On Deck with Marcus Hanlon

Marcus Hanlon has loved music since before he knew what an instrument was. He’s played the bassoon for over six years, three of which have been with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.  He also loves science and is combining his love of electrical engineering and music by transcribing various pieces of music for Tesla coils. In… More


Mia Hale

September 22, 2024

On Deck with Mia Hale

18-year old oboist Mia Hale started off playing music with the violin and piano, but has made the switch to the double reed family! In this interview with Lisa Lipton, we dive deeper into finding what inspires her in music. Mia is a recent graduate of Parkrose High School and will be attending the University… More


Emory Yu Guyer

July 27, 2024

On Deck with Emory Yu Guyer

Emory Yu Guyer is an incoming freshman at University of Oregon Honors College. They will major in Music Education, and double minor in Spanish and Finance. Having graduated recently from Lakeridge High School, they were the jazz band’s bassist, wind ensemble’s flute section leader, and pep band’s student director. This year, both their jazz rhythm… More


Emily Wen

June 30, 2024

On Deck with Emily Wen

Emily Wen, a junior at Sherwood High School, plays in her school Wind Ensemble and marching band, and the Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra.  This is Emily’s 6th year playing the flute and 5th year studying under Denise Westby.  She is the principal flute of the Sherwood High School Wind Ensemble and the Portland Youth Conservatory… More


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