All Classical Radio | On Deck with Young Musicians

Vocalist Geetha Somayajula reacts to her interview from 10 years ago, and shares her journey since then (which includes a degree from USC, a Fulbright year in South India, a stint at Price Waterhouse Cooper, and a current path to a dual Masters degree at Northwestern University). Geetha also shares that as a South Asian she has often felt misunderstood; she now finds purpose in helping people communicate and find a sense of belonging.

Claudio Chung is a 17-year-old pianist at Lakeridge high school. He is a student of Linda Barker and a recent winner of Cognizart's Young Artist Debut Competition. You can hear him along with the five other winners of the competition on November 18, 2022 at The Reser in Beaverton. At the tender age of five, Claudio embarked on his musical journey. On top of playing the piano, he also studied the violin for seven years with Ruth Sadilek. After high school, Claudio has dreams to attend Oberlin Conservatory of Music studying piano and hopes to become a professor of piano one day.

Kristen Kim is a 13-year old cellist and the youngest winner of a spot on this year’s Young Artist Debut concert (November 18th at the Reser in Beaverton). While she enjoys reading and cooking, most of Kristen’s time is dedicated to music. She plays in 3 ensembles with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and is also a mentor for PYP’s Young String Ensemble. Kristen’s older sister Ellie will also be performing on this upcoming Young Artist Debut concert; it’s the first time in the competition’s history that two siblings will be performing on the same stage.

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 about trains: reading about them, riding them, photographing them, and more. (Would he ever hop a freight train? You’ll have to listen to find out.) He’s also a fan of cooking, which he has learned from his professional chef parents, and he speaks English, Japanese and Marathi, the language from his mother’s region of India.

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 Carleton College, where she will not major in music, but hopes to continue playing in chamber and orchestral ensembles. In Portland, Klara is a violin student of Endrew Ehrlich, and enjoys biking, hiking and climbing trees.