All Classical Radio | On Deck with Young Musicians

Christa Wessel chats with 17-year old pianist Nikita Istratov, a senior at Sunset High School and one of the winners of Cognizart’s Young Artist Debut Concert on May 17th. In this episode of On Deck, Nikita talks about his love of classical music, his curiosity about how creative people became creative, and about getting his pilot’s license before he got his driver’s license.

Raul Gomez-Rojas chats with 17-year old bassoonist Katelyn Nguyen, one of All Classical Radio’s 2024 Young Artist Ambassadors. In this episode of On Deck, we’ll learn not only why she chose the bassoon, but why she has chosen to play in both the Metropolitan Youth Symphony AND the Portland Youth Philharmonic. As she heads to the Curtis Institute next year, she also shares some advice for her younger self.

Sophie Bergkvist is in the midst of her first season with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS), where she plays trumpet with the Concert Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Ensemble. She began playing trumpet at the age of 10 by joining her school band. She enjoyed it so much, that she decided to study under Jim Kvech, and currently with Gerald Webster. Musical honors include selection to the 2023 Oregon All-State Symphonic Band and the 2023 Western International Band Clinic.

Eden Warmflash is a 16-year old junior at Portland’s Cleveland High School, and a percussionist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. In her chat with Raul Gomez-Rojas, Eden talks about the various categories of percussion instruments, some misconceptions about percussionists, and how playing in musical ensembles helps her as a dragon boat captain.

Kaden Prichard is a freshman at Rex Putnam High School where he plays in the Wind Ensemble under Jeff Wilson. He started playing clarinet in the third grade and has been a student of Dunja Marcum since then. When he's not gaming or relacing a pair of sneakers, he enjoys cooking, swimming and will be trying out the golf team this spring. He's been an active member of MYS ensembles since 2018 and has been performing as part of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra for the past two seasons. Adam Eccleston hosts.

Amy Faust gets to know Maya Hausman, a senior at Cleveland High school who plays flute and piccolo (plus a little bit of clarinet!) for various school ensembles as well as the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Maya started playing the piano at age 5, but as a member of the Cherokee Nation she was drawn early on to the native flute playing at the tribal gatherings her family would attend each summer. Her passion for classical music is matched by her drive to bring attention to indigenous history and justice. At Cleveland, she co-founded a native student union and is part of the campaign to change the school’s name due to Grover Cleveland’s anti-indigenous policies. For this segment, Maya plays a contemporary piece (Homeland, by Allison Loggins-Hull) that evokes her people’s history of displacement.

Christa Wessel chats with 18-year old pianist Joshua Hahn. Joshua loves how music demands perseverance and dedication, and also how it can connect us to emotion and memory deep inside us.

All Classical Radio celebrates the 10th anniversary of On Deck with Young Musicians by following up with 10 of the musicians who were interviewed in the first season of the show. The series is hosted by All Classical intern Jahlysa Azaret. Daniel Rodricks is a resident physician and pianist based in Newport News, Virginia. In this bonus “Where Are They Now” episode Daniel shares his thoughts about his past interview and the moving impact it made. We also discuss more about his gratitude toward his community in supporting him with his career and the importance of maintaining music in one’s life.

Violinist Leena Karmarkar was only 4 years old when her parents signed her up for music lessons. Now at 17, she’s the concertmaster at the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Leena talks about losing motivation during the pandemic, and how she got her joy back. A junior at Portland’s Lincoln High School, she enjoys being challenged. Leena is working toward an IB diploma, and in her spare time she runs cross country and volunteers at YouthLine, a teen-to-teen crisis line. Raul Gomez-Rojas hosts.

Rachel Modlin is a senior at Reed College, studying collaborative piano performance and French. She studies piano privately with Jean-David Coen and Monica Ohuchi. She is a member of the Reed Piano Trio, has soloed with the Reed orchestra, and frequently performs collaborative works with Reed students. As a collaborative pianist, Rachel performs a variety of gigs from musical theater auditions at Portland Playhouse to subbing cantata rehearsals for the Bach Cantata Choir. Outside of her studies, Rachel is the Administrative Assistant for Fear No Music and teaches ballet at Classical Ballet Academy.