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.
October 1, 2022
On Deck with Cami Arbella
Cami Arbella spews inspiration in every word she says. This talented and heartwarming 16-year-old cellist is a student at Jefferson high school and has a 4.0 GPA. A proud Cuban American, Cami is bilingual in Spanish and English. She’s been in BRAVO Youth Orchestras since its conception in 2013. Cami now serves as a high …
July 30, 2022
On Deck with Ayush Wynkoop
Amy Faust chats with Ayush Wynkoop about music, cooking, and….trains! A rising junior at Valley Catholic High School, Ayush plays flute with Metropolitan Youth Symphony, flute and piccolo with the Westside Youth & Community Orchestra, and saxophone with his high school band. As passionate and dedicated as he is to music, he also loves everything …
July 23, 2022
On Deck with George Miller
“It is very much a part of me.” That’s how 16-year-old George Miller describes his relationship with music. This pianist and multi-instrumentalist is a student at Rex Putnam HS, and in this episode of On Deck, he describes to Raúl Gómez-Rojas how music served as a safe space for him after personal struggles when he …
July 9, 2022
On Deck with Isaac Schultz
Isaac Schultz is a 17-year-old violist with the Portland Youth Philharmonic. In this episode of On Deck, he chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his involvement with PYP, his passion for orchestral and chamber music, and other passions such as baking. At school (Northwest Academy), Isaac is also involved in theatre productions and musical theater.
July 2, 2022
On Deck with Daphne Tran
14-year-old Daphne Tran shares with us her fascinating life with the harp. In this episode of On Deck with Young Musicians, Daphne opens up with Adam Eccleston about her musical inspirations, the different styles of harps, and even shares two of her hidden talents with us. As a 9th grader at Valley Catholic High School, …
June 25, 2022
On Deck with Benjamin Hosking
Benjamin Hosking is a nineteen year-old flute player living in Lake Oswego. In this episode of On Deck, Ben speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about moving to the U.S. from New Zealand when he was 10 years old. Soon after, he discovered music in his elementary school and immediately gravitated towards the flute. Ben is currently …
June 18, 2022
On Deck with Joseph Baik
Amy Faust covers a lot of musical territory with 16 year-old clarinetist Joseph Baik, who will be performing a solo piece at Carnegie Hall this fall. A student at Sunset High, Joseph started playing music before he can even remember, and after a stint with Metropolitan Youth Symphony that was “fun and life-changing”, he made …
June 11, 2022
On Deck with Klara Kjome Fischer
Klara Kjome Fischer, 18, is a recent graduate of the IB program at Cleveland High School and a violinist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. In this episode of On Deck, Klara speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about her experience learning, rehearsing and performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 with MYS. In the fall, Klara plans to attend …
May 28, 2022
On Deck with Derek Choi
In this episode of On Deck, 16-year-old violinist Derek Choi chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his beginnings in music, playing piano and classical guitar before he ever picked up a violin. Starting a couple of years ago, a shift in his approach to competitions enabled him to start cultivating prizes more consistently: In the spring …
May 21, 2022
On Deck with Koharu Sakiyama
Amy Faust gets to know Koharu Sakiyama, a composer whose piece “Untold Tales,” a collaboration with local young poet Laila Vickers, just premiered at the Metropolitan Youth Symphony‘s spring concert. Koharu, who also plays violin with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, alto sax with her high school band, as well as the Japanese koto, has won …
