All Classical Radio | On Deck with Young Musicians

Raúl Gómez chats with Henry Pappas, a 16 year-old junior at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, OR. Henry has been playing the violin since he was 8 years old, and along the way, he’s picked up clarinet, percussion, jazz, conducting, and most recently, podcasting. Henry started a podcast for the Corvallis Youth Symphony entitled “Notes from Within,” through which he aims to explore his community through classical music. Henry’s violin teacher, Anthea Kreston, inspired Henry to create this podcast and offered guidance for the project.

Amy Faust chats with Heaven Fay Scroggins, a pianist, viola player and composer who’s in the seventh grade. In the second grade, Heaven Fay was introduced to classical music by Bravo Orchestras when they came to her elementary school, Rosa Parks in North Portland. After several years playing the viola, her perfect attendance earned her a slot with Play It Forward, a program that provides pianos and tuition-free lessons to students. The founder of the program, pianist Michael Allen Harrison, is Heaven Fay’s teacher, mentor and now family friend. Heaven Fay’s composition “H9” is now in the Bravo curriculum, and she intends to keep composing and performing music, even possibly writing a children’s book someday about her musical experiences

Paul Lee is an 18-year-old pianist and violinist with an already long list of awards and accomplishments. In this episode of On Deck, Paul shares with Raúl Gómez how he went from being a “competition guy” to an “outreach guy,” putting his music to the service of others. He and his brother Timmy -also a violinist and pianist- regularly play for their church, nursing homes, the Korean Society of Oregon, Portland Rescue Mission, the Ronald McDonald Charity Home, and the Wilsonville Korean War Memorial.

Violist Elijah Zacharia was only 11-years old when he joined the most advanced ensemble at the Portland Youth Philharmonic, a remarkable achievement at such young age. Now a 16-year-old homeschooled junior, he chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about the reasons why he chose the viola when he was only 3 years old, the importance of youth orchestra and chamber music, and his favorite moments on stage.

Jackson Grace is a 17-year-old senior at Franklin High School. In this episode of On Deck, Jackson chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his beginnings in piano (which involve playing a video game!) as well as his current musical adventures: playing jazz with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Jazz Ensemble, and writing music with FearNoMusic’s Young Composers Project.
 
 In his spare time, Jackson designs roller coasters in a simulator called NoLimits 2, where he was won design competitions. Jackson is passionate about math and physics and plans to go into mechanical engineering in college. His dream Job: roller coaster designer.

Amy Faust checks in with composer and multi-instrumentalist Elaina Rae Stuppler, and then finds it’s impossible to squeeze all of her career highlights into a 9-minute episode, even though she’s only in the 8th grade!
 
 A recent transplant from the Los Angeles area, Elaina is the first recipient of the Luna Lab fellowship, a new program sponsored by the Oregon Symphony for young composers. She’s also a member of Fear No Music’s Young Composer Project, and her original composition is featured in Metropolitan Youth Symphony‘s Fall concert this season.
 
 She loves to write and perform original pop music, and frequently sings the National Anthem at local sporting events (perhaps you saw her on NBC at the Portland Grand Prix last summer?) Elaina attends Lakeridge Middle School and plans to head to Lakeridge High next year.

19-year old pianist Trinity Goff chats with Christa Wessel about stage fright, improvisation and about her upcoming performance on Cognizart’s Young Artists Debut concert.
 
 Trinity is a freshman at Willamette University and is majoring in music and in German. In addition to focusing on her goal of becoming a professional concert pianist, she is also a piano teacher, with a studio of 14 students.

Adrian Hsieh is a junior at Corvallis High School who has been playing cello since the age of four and piano since the age of six. On this episode of On Deck, Adrian speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about being one of the winners of the 2021 Young Artists Debut! Van Buren Concerto Competition by Cognizart, with Antonin Dvorak’s cello concerto. Adrian has won several other competitions, including one that allowed him to play as a soloist with Oregon Mozart Players when he was only in sixth grade.
 
 When he’s not playing cello or piano, Adrian enjoys participating in musical theater performances: he has played the lead in West Side Story and Beauty and the Beast and was the music director and conductor in a production of Spitfire Grill presented by the Corvallis School District Theaters. Adrian also enjoys plays Magic: the Gathering in his spare time.

Amy Faust gets to know Katie Liu, who, as a winner of the Cognizart competition, will be performing with members of the Oregon Symphony at the Young Artist Debut Concert on November 19th.
 
 A freshman at St. Mary’s Academy and a violinist and pianist with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Katie loves to perform for any audience, big or small, young or old. Since the third grade, she has taken the initiative to arrange regular performances at retirement centers, and has also played several times at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
 
 A passionate and compelling musician who puts tons of emotion into her performances, Katie is naturally drawn toward romantic pieces and composers, but she’s also interested in computer science…go figure!

Grace Applegate, 17, is a high schooler at Sherwood High School who plays piano, clarinet, and sings. On this episode of On Deck, she chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas on topics ranging from practicing habits to advocacy and life goals. Outside of music, Grace is passionate about philosophy, psychology, art, and activism. She also enjoys reading and writing. Grace wishes to pursue a career in psychotherapy and will always hold music close to her heart.

Christa Wessel chats with 16-year old violinist Kate Stange, a junior at Roosevelt High School. As a youngster, she found her way to the violin after becoming obsessed, as a 4-year old, with a purple toy violin. Now a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s Concert Orchestra, music has become a huge priority in her life. In fact, when Kate was hospitalized for a heart-related issue last year, she found that being able to have her violin in her hospital room was a huge comfort to her.

Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with Kaisa Amer, a 13 year-old eighth grader at Sherwood Middle School. Kaisa was born in Michigan, and before moving to Oregon, she lived with her family in Bangkok, Thailand. Her primary musical interest is percussion, but she has also taken piano lessons and enjoys singing in choir. As a percussionist, Kaisa’s favorite instrument is the marimba, and she also enjoys playing vibraphone in jazz band and any instruments she is assigned in band or orchestra.

In this episode of “On Deck,” Cyrus speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about his musical pursuits, as well as his passion for competitive swimming and tennis.

In this episode of "On Deck," Amy Faust chats with Audrey Opsahl, a 17 year-old singer with the Pacific Youth Choir and the Cleveland High School Choir.

Makenzie Monson is a 15-year-old vocalist and pianist who deeply cherishes music in her life. In this episode of On Deck, Makenzie chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about how performing for others gives her a sense of purpose, as well as an opportunity to bring hope and joy to her audiences.

Evelyne Knight knows what it’s like to count lots of rests. She also knows that being an orchestral percussionist is A LOT more complex (and fun!) than most people think. In this episode of “On Deck,” Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with Evelyne, who is 17 years old and a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, where she has been principal percussionist since 2019.

Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with 16-year-old Catherine Hartrim-Lowe, a self-described “homeschooled, homesteading, high school sophomore, cellist, vocalist, and amateur pianist living near Vancouver, Washington.”

In this episode of “On Deck,” Amy Faust chats with Erika Metzenberg, a 15 year old violin player with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Erika has been playing with MYS for almost 8 years, and has recently picked up the viola as well, taking regular lessons from MYS director (and On Deck host) Raul Gomez.

In this episode of “On Deck,” Christa Wessel talks with 16-year old Arthur Khamkhosy, a junior at Clackamas High School. Though he began his musical journey with piano, he now sings with three choirs (including the Pacific Youth Choir and Portland’s Singing Christmas Tree). He loves the sense of community -and the vibrations- that choir provides. However, in this pandemic year, “Zoom choir” has been the new norm, and we’ll talk with Arthur about the ups and downs of that experience.

Christa Wessel chats with 18-year old Kaleb Hall. He discovered classical music through ballet. He then began playing clarinet, but it wasn’t until he started singing that he fell deeply in love with the genre. Kaleb and Christa have an interesting conversation this week, ranging from regret and fear, to pride and humility. We’ll also learn why Kaleb wants to pursue a career in music.

In this episode of “On Deck,” George speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about another one of his passions: graffiti art, as well as the importance of making mistakes, embracing failure and pushing your own limits.

Amy Faust gets to know Leo Trajano, a 7th grader at Evergreen Middle School in Hillsboro whose passion for playing violin is only matched by his passion for piano. (Oh, and ping pong!)

Ted Ekstrand was inspired to take up an instrument when his older brothers started learning violin and French horn, but Ted wanted something louder and brighter, so, naturally, he picked the trumpet.

Christa Wessel chats with 16-year old violinist Audrey Wallace. Audrey, as a young girl, overcame her shyness to demand violin lessons; she is now a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Audrey tells us about the highs and lows along the way: wanting to quit violin, but then rediscovering her love of it once again. Audrey also tells us how the dialogues of the Greek and Roman thinkers inspire her today.

In this episode of On Deck, Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with flutist Macy Gong, a 15-year-old freshman at Oregon Episcopal School and a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

In this episode of “On Deck,” Amy Faust gets to know Issa Okamoto, a 17 year old coloratura soprano who serves as Executive Director of Portland Concert Opera.

Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with Irie Page, a 17-year-old singer and actor with an already impressive résumé.

In this installment of “On Deck,” Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with 18-year-old French horn player Kelson Gipp, a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and his school band at the Ida B. Wells High School in Portland, OR.

Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with Galilea Rios Schulz, a 17-year-old violinist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Music has always been a part of Galilea’s life, dating all the way back to her dad playing guitar and ukulele for her as a baby.

In this episode of “On Deck,” Christa Wessel chats with violinist Lydia Downs. Lydia is a senior at Cleveland High School, and is slated to graduate as one of the valedictorians of her class.

Addison Domenigoni, a 17-year-old junior from Clackamas High School, chats with Raúl Gómez about her biggest passion: choral singing.

Amy Faust gets to know Ella Dorsey, a versatile musician who plays classical bass with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.