On Deck with Young Musicians
As of March 2025, On Deck with Young Musicians is no longer producing new episodes. This program featured inspirational interviews that celebrate and showcase the incredibly talented young musicians who live and perform in the Pacific Northwest: the young people who are shaping the future of classical music. The archive below features episodes hosted by Christa Wessel, Adam Eccleston, Raúl Gómez-Rojas, Jahlysa Azaret, and Lisa Lipton.
September 21, 2019
On Deck with Sabastian Alcobendas
Sabastian Alcobendas is a 17-year old senior at Tigard High School who won the 2019 OSAA State Championship title in Solo Tenor Voice. After being bullied in middle school, Sabastian tells us how music -both listening to it and writing it- has helped him come to accept and love himself for who he is.
July 20, 2019
On Deck with Kira Wang
Cellist Kira Wang is just 14-years old, but is already making a name for herself. She has won concerto competitions with the Jewish Community Orchestra, the Beaverton Symphony and the Portland Youth Philharmonic. We’ll learn about what keeps her motivated, as well as some of her other interests, in this episode of “On Deck.”
July 13, 2019
On Deck with Erwin Kim
17-year old Erwin Kim just wrapped up his junior year at Central Catholic High School, and is a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony as BOTH a violinist and a French hornist. As if that doesn’t keep him busy enough, Erwin is also a member of his school’s baseball team AND volunteers for a local …
June 22, 2019
On Deck with Israel Perez
Though 17-year old flutist Israel Perez only recently started taking private lessons, he has already won the Salem Youth Symphony Concerto Competition and was one of 5 finalists nationwide in the US Marine Corps Concerto Competition. Israel is incredibly self-driven; as one of 9 siblings he the first in his family to go to college. …
June 8, 2019
On Deck with Claire Ku
Claire Ku is a 15-year old sophomore at Tualatin High School, and until recently has been studying both piano and ballet. She made the decision to stop dancing in order to focus more of her attention on the piano. Then she won a spot on this year’s MetroArts Young Artist Debut concert. We’ll hear a …
May 25, 2019
On Deck with Tristan Peng
Tristan Peng is a 16-year old junior at Catlin Gabel School who has won numerous competitions and scholarships as a pianist… but he also sings with the Pacific Youth Choir, and plays saxophone (both jazz and classical)! In addition to that he’s heavily involved with the robotics team at school, which not only challenges him …
April 27, 2019
On Deck with Noah Carr
Noah Carr is one of the youngest musicians to have appeared “On Deck” – he’s a 13-year old violinist who performs with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. In this episode, Noah also dives in to a topic not frequently raised on the show: racism in classical music. It’s a subject Noah cares deeply about. In Noah’s …
April 6, 2019
On Deck with Taylor Yoon
Taylor Yoon is a 17-year old cellist who has had a very big year. She won a spot on this year’s MetroArts Young Artists Debut Concert AND she was just named All Classical Portland’s first-ever Young Artist In Residence. Combined with recent awards she’s received for her visual art, she admits she’s had a hard …
March 30, 2019
On Deck with Micah Ng
Micah Ng is a 17-year old pianist who has been a finalist in numerous competitions (Jewish Community Orchestra, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Jewish Community Orchestra), though he believes his success is due more to hard work than to any innate talent. The church is also very important to Micah; he’ll tell us about a recent mission …
March 9, 2019
On Deck with Zayan Akmal
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 …
