All Classical Radio | On Deck with Young Musicians

15-year old Alexis Zou attends Lake Oswego High School and 16-year old Hansen Barrett goes to West Linn High School. Their piano teacher, Renato Fabbro, suggested that they might both benefit from being in a piano duo together. They’ve been a duet for just one year, but they’ve already amassed quite a list of accomplishments. The two talk this week with Christa Wessel about the challenges of playing with another pianist, and what resulting benefits they’ve seen in their own musicianship.

In this episode of On Deck, 17-year-old cellist Andrew Sickler speaks with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about finding the cello at a young age, and how a recent switch in his approach to practicing allowed him to discover a future in music. Andrew is on his way to the University of Oregon for a major concentration in music performance under the tutelage of Steven Pologe. In Portland, Andrew played with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and with his school orchestra at Tualatin High School.

Roberto Moo-Julian is a rising senior at Roosevelt High School and a trumpeter in the BRAVO Community Orchestra. He started music in the 4th grade in BRAVO Youth Orchestras and has performed at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the capitol building in Salem, the YOLA National Symposium in Los Angeles, and has even made a guest appearance in one of the recitals of this episode’s host, Adam Eccleston. Roberto dreams of attending college to study physical therapy to help athletes while also maintaining his love of music.

Keean Balsiger is an 18-year-old senior at Tualatin HS who plays viola, violin and guitar in classical, jazz and rock ensembles. In this episode of On Deck, Keean chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about the similarities and differences between his different instruments and the genres that he enjoys exploring. Over the course of his musical career, Keean has been a member of many school ensembles as well as the Portland Youth Philharmonic and Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Additionally, he plays guitar with his school’s Jazz Ensemble, and has a rock band with friends.

Amy Faust chats with singer Sam Decker, a senior at Rex Putnam High School and a member of the Pacific Youth Choir. Sam is a section leader at PYC and tells us about his approach to mentoring, which largely focuses on bonding and having fun. Sam will be attending University of Oregon next year as a music major.

In this episode of On Deck, Raul Gomez-Rojas speaks with violinist Ryan Jun, a junior at Mountainside High School. He has been playing the violin for eight years, and currently studies with Carol Sindell. He won the Young Artists Competition and soloed with the Jewish Community Orchestra in 2022, and was chosen as a 2023 winner of Cognizart’s Young Artists Debut! Competition,which takes place May 26 at the Reser in Beaverton. Ryan has also been a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic for the past 4 years. Besides music, he enjoys playing on his school’s varsity golf team and sees some parallels between golf and music.

Luke D’Silva is a sophomore at Westview High School. His musical journey began at 6 years old with the violin. Three years later, he decided to play the viola with Andrea Hawkins as his teacher. Luke joined the Young String Ensemble of PYP (Portland Youth Philharmonic) as the Assistant Principal Violist and became the Principal Violist the following year. Luke is currently the Co-Principal Violist of the PYP Orchestra. In 2022, he joined Oregon’s All-State Honor Orchestra, and in 2023, he served as Principal Violist of both All-State and All-Northwest Honor Orchestras. He plans to attend college and double major in music and engineering.

Sarah Lee, age 16, is a sophomore at Westview High School and an award-winning cellist. In this episode of On Deck, Sarah chats with Raúl Gómez-Rojas about her journey and accomplishments, including being one of the winners of Cognizart’s 2023 Young Artists Debut! Competition. Sarah is also a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, and has participated in numerous master classes and summer programs. In addition to playing cello, she is a competitive soccer player, and enjoys teaching with Project Prelude, a student-led organization that introduces elementary-school kids to string instruments.

Amy Faust chats with Andy Shin, the youngest of this year’s Metro Arts Cognizart Young Artists Debut winners. He’s an 8th grader at Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering. Andy has played the cello for 4 years after making the switch from piano. (It was a live performance of a Saint-Saens cello concerto that got him.) He currently plays with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and plans to continue doing so in high school. You can see Andy with his fellow winners at a special Cognizart Young Artists Debut performance on May 26th at the Reser Center in Beaverton.

Raúl Gómez-Rojas chats with Minntah Haefker, a 16 year old Junior enrolled at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. Minntah often sings as a guest vocalist with the band “3 Leg Torso,” studies Opera with her voice coach Angela Niederloh, and competes in state/regional competitions singing in multiple languages. She also loves to perform gigs at the restaurant “Carruthers” in Astoria, Oregon and enjoys creating music with her friends. Minntah sang in the Lincoln HS Choir and Cardinal Choir her freshman and sophomore years and recently won the Soprano Soloist Category for District 1.