Down the Pit

A highly entertaining and informative conversation with 6 time GRAMMY-nominated violinist & composerCurtis Stewart. In the episode, Curtis talks about tearing down the facade of "classical violinist" and his constant pursuit of his musical authenticity, treating art as a battery for realizing citizenship. His creative process, his upbringings, upcoming projects, are all part of this 60 min talk with him, as he gets ready for Grammy week where he has 2 nominations! Thanks for listening and please Subscribe, Rate and Review the Podcast. A lot of work goes into bringing Down the Pit to you, and we would to know your thoughts on how we are doing! To become a Down the Pit supporter for as little as $0.99/month, please visit ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/down-the-pit⁠⁠ Visit tonebase.com for some amazing online courses and lessons for Violin, Piano, Cello, Flute, Guitar, etc. The best online platform with hundreds of instructional videos and lessons for musicians of all levels! Check it out and use Promo Code ⁠⁠SAMI-30⁠⁠ at Checkout for a 14-day FREE trial and 30% off for a yearly subscription. Sign up TODAY! Thanks to our corporate sponsor ⁠⁠U.S. PAVE⁠⁠ for their continued support! We are on Instagram/TikTok/Twitter @downthepit_pod Facebook: Down the Pit Podcast Co-hosts: Sami Merdinian: ⁠⁠@samimerdinian⁠⁠ - Ian Loew: @lunchmeat1836 Producer: Sami Merdinian Special Guest: Curtis Stewart Instagram: @curtis.stewart_violin https://curtisjstewart.com/ ⁠Please Support this podcast for more interviews!⁠

Violist and Comedian Isabel joins Ian and Sami in a dynamic and fun conversation in which she dives into her life, going into details about the shift in her career, the viola, her standup comedy routines, her appearances in the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, her upcoming projects, goals and a lot more. Also, for the first time, we will be posting our full episode on YouTube (highly recommended) Please subscribe to our channel for notification on when that will be published! Thanks for listening and please Subscribe, Rate and Review the Podcast. A lot of work goes into bringing Down the Pit to you, and we would to know your thoughts on how we are doing! To become a Down the Pit supporter for as little as $0.99/month, please visit ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/down-the-pit⁠ Visit tonebase.com for some amazing online courses and lessons for Violin, Piano, Cello, Flute, Guitar, etc. The best online platform with hundreds of instructional videos and lessons for musicians of all levels! Check it out and use Promo Code ⁠SAMI-30⁠ at Checkout for a 14-day FREE trial and 30% off for a yearly subscription. Sign up TODAY! Thanks to our corporate sponsor ⁠U.S. PAVE⁠ for their continued support! We are on Instagram/TikTok/Twitter @downthepit_pod Facebook: Down the Pit Podcast Co-hosts: Sami Merdinian: ⁠@samimerdinian⁠ - Ian Loew: @lunchmeat1836 Producer: Sami Merdinian Special Guest: Isabel Hagen Instagram: @isablehagen_ TikTok: @isabelhagen isabelhagen.com Please Support this podcast for more interviews!

In this episode, Sami Merdinian and Ian Loew have a great conversation with music educator in Florida Anthony Williams who is known to be the Michael Jordan of Music Education down in Florida. As retirement approaches, he shares his passion and life mission of making the world a better place through music and the importance for accessibility no matter the background. An uplifting episode that makes us wonder the importance of mentors in our lives and how essential music is for everyone's early education. Thanks for listening and please Subscribe, Rate and Review the Podcast. A lot of work goes into bringing Down the Pit to you, and we would to know your thoughts on how we are doing! To become a Down the Pit supporter for as little as $0.99/month, please visit https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/down-the-pit Visit tonebase.com for some amazing online courses and lessons for Violin, Piano, Cello, Flute, Guitar, etc. The best online platform with hundreds of instructional videos and lessons for musicians of all levels! Check it out and use Promo Code SAMI-30 at Checkout for a 14-day FREE trial and 30% off for a yearly subscription. Sign up TODAY! Thanks to our corporate sponsor U.S. PAVE for their continued support! We are on Instagram/TikTok/Twitter @downthepit_pod Facebook: Down the Pit Podcast Co-hosts: Sami Merdinian: @samimerdinian - Ian Loew: @lunchmeat1836 Producers: Sami Merdinian & Leo Finelli ---Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/down-the-pit/support

In this episode, Sami Merdinian and Ian Loew have a great conversation with violist/composer/educator Jessica Meyer who has established herself to be an incredible force in the industry thanks for her passion, perseverance, entrepreneurial skills and extraordinary talent. She talks about all of her projects, her path to becoming a very influential figure, her grind, the importance of improvisation, her method of composition, finding quality time to decompress in nature and with friends and family, the joys of teaching and her inspirational workshops so students can be the best advocates for their own careers. She talks about her solo shows with loop pedal, writing a piece for the US Presidential Marine Band, and the premiere of her own viola concerto in NYC. Thanks for listening and please Subscribe, Rate and Review the Podcast. A lot of work goes into bringing Down the Pit to you, and we would to know your thoughts on how we are doing! To become a Down the Pit supporter for as little as $0.99/month, please visit https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/down-the-pit Visit tonebase.com for some amazing online courses and lessons for Violin, Piano or Guitar. The best online platform with hundreds of instructional videos and lessons for musicians of all levels! Check it out and use Promo Code SAMI-30 at Checkout for a 14-day FREE trial and 30% off for a yearly subscription. Sign up TODAY! Thanks to our corporate sponsor U.S. PAVE for their continued support! Check out our website www.downthepit.com We are on Instagram/TikTok/Twitter @downthepit_pod Facebook: Down the Pit Podcast Co-hosts: Sami Merdinian: @samimerdinian - Ian Loew: @lunchmeat1836 Producer: Sami Merdinian - Assistant Producer: Chris Ellis https://www.downthepit.com https://jessicameyermusic.com/ @jessicameyermusic

Happy New Year listeners!!! In this episode, we learn the unique story of one of the best trumpeters of his generation. The youngest player to ever play with the legendary Canadian Brass, Brandon Ridenour engages in a very entertaining  and informative conversation; his first piano lesson with his father at age 5, to his parents crushing his dreams to play drums, Brandon shares his path to the versatile artist he's become. His amazing career as a trumpeter, composer, arranger, his fascination with comedy, the importance of humanity coming together to take better care of our planet and each other, advice for young players, tour life anecdotes, new projects, his new appointment as faculty  at the New School and his love for pedagogy are just a few topics we cover during the first episode of 2023. Cheers to everyone for a great year ahead!!! Thanks for listening and please Subscribe, Rate and Review the Podcast. A lot of work goes into bringing Down the Pit to you, and we would to know your thoughts on how we are doing! To become a Down the Pit supporter for as little as $0.99/month, please visit www.Anchor.FM/Down-the-Pit. Visit tonebase.com for some amazing online courses and lessons for Violin, Piano or Guitar. The best online platform with hundreds of instructional videos and lessons for musicians of all levels! Check it out and use Promo Code SAMI-30 at Checkout for a 14-day FREE trial and 30% off for a yearly subscription. Sign up TODAY! Thanks to our corporate sponsor U.S. PAVE for their continued support! Check out our website www.downthepit.com We are on Instagram/TikTok/Twitter @downthepit_pod and @samiviolin Facebook: Down the Pit Podcast Co-hosts: Sami Merdinian: @samimerdinian - Ian Loew: @lunchmeat1836 - Producer: Sami Merdinian - Assistant Producer: Chris Ellis https://www.downthepit.com https://www.brandonridenour.org/ @b.ride.music