All Classical Portland will debut the radio station’s first-ever artists in residence at its annual Lovefest concert Feb. 26 at the Newmark Theatre in downtown Portland.

Hunter Noack, the station’s professional artist in residence, is an acclaimed pianist who created the outdoor concert series “In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild,” for which Noack hauls a 9-foot Steinway grand piano to parks and historic and natural sites to perform classical music. At the Lovefest concert, Noack will perform Franz Liszt’s famous Liebestraum, which translates from German as “love dream.”

Taylor Yoon, the station’s young artist in residence, is a junior at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego and the school’s principal cellist. She and her two older sisters perform as the Yoontrio. Yoon also will perform at Lovefest.

Also scheduled to appear at the concert are jazz pianist Darrell Grant, violinists Sarah Kwak and Vali Phillips, cellists Marilyn de Oliveira and Trevor Fitzpatrick, violist Kenji Bunch and pianist Monica Ohuchi, and singer Merideth Kaye Clark, among others.

All Classical created the artist-in-residence program to provide young and emerging musicians with opportunities to advance their career and connect with audiences. Noack and Yoon, who will be resident artists for one year, will perform during Thursdays @ Three, All Classical’s weekly live, on-air performance series. They will also be featured in other live performances organized by All Classical, will author posts on the station’s website and will have access to the station’s recording equipment.

An artist-in-residence program at a radio station is uncommon; All Classical may be one of the first radio stations in the country, if not the first, to start such a program.

Suzanne Nance, All Classical’s president and CEO, says the program is a natural way to help emerging musicians launch their careers and share their music with listeners. “We have this megaphone for the arts … a really precious, valuable asset, and that is our airwaves,” Nance says.

The artist-in-residence program is part of All Classical Portland’s Joyous Outreach to You/Th, or JOY Program, launched in 2017 to promote equity and inclusivity and to engage people who traditionally have not accessed classical music. The program also includes Youth Roving Reporters, which teaches high school students about arts journalism; Where We Live, a series that profiles art organizations that organize performances or exhibits that highlight social issues; and Night Out program, which helps seniors, people with disabilities, and people facing social isolation attend performances in Portland.

Nance says that the JOY Program had, so far, exposed people to art and music, but had not directly helped musicians. “We thought, ‘What’s next? How can we have a higher touch in helping an artist grow?’ ”

All Classical’s recording equipment is a key part of the residency program, as the artists will be able to develop recorded portfolios, which Nance says can help them secure employment.

Oftentimes, she says, recording in a professional studio is difficult for many young musicians and musicians of color, due to the expense.

It is becoming more common for musicians to record using digital programs like GarageBand or with smartphones. But Nance says the quality is not as good and the resulting recordings often cannot be played on the radio. “It’s not to the quality that people still expect when they tune into the radio,” Nance says. “It’s a disservice.”

Noack agrees. “Recording is very expensive. I’ve often recorded in places that aren’t professional studios to save money,” he admits.

He described All Classical’s piano as “beautiful” and the recording equipment as “amazing,” and is already planning to expand his repertoire by digging into All Classical’s music library.

Nance says All Classical is already planning to launch artist residencies for a poet and a visual artist next. “Art inspires art,” she says. “We want to include them.”

All Classical Portland’s Lovefest concert

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26.

Where: Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway.

Tickets: $25-$60, allclassical.org or 800-273-1530.