Down the Pit

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!!!

“A VIOLINIST OF HEART-MELTING TALENT.” – The Wall Street Journal

“DAZZLING SKILLS AND A MONA LISA SMILE.” – The Washington Post

A very special episode with violinist, singer, actress Lucia Micarelli! 

Born in Queens, New York, Lucia has been immersed in the arts since the age of three. After attending the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music,  Lucia began to develop a growing interest in non-classical music.  She started moonlighting with local jazz and rock bands in New York clubs, and  she was offered to tour with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as a featured violinist and concertmaster.

In addition, she’s been a featured soloist in two of Josh Groban’s world tours, toured extensively with Chris Botti and was featured in his “Live From Boston” PBS special along with being featured in Barbra Streisand’s 2013 international tour. She also released two solo studio albums, “Music From A Farther Room” and “Interlude”.  But 2009 saw Lucia broadening her career even further when she was cast in the starring role of “Annie” in HBO’s critically acclaimed series, “Treme”, created by David Simon and Eric Overmeyer, which ran for four seasons and won a Peabody Award as well as a Primetime Emmy Award.

Since then, Lucia’s profile has continued to soar. In 2018, Lucia appeared in her first PBS concert special, which aired throughout the US and spawned the live album “An Evening with Lucia Micarelli”.  In 2020, Lucia joined the Hallmark Family and starred in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries holiday movie “The Christmas Bow” alongside Michael Rady.  Whether on stage or screen, Lucia is sure to take you on an eclectic journey through her many musical influences - from classical to jazz to traditional fiddle music and Americana - all bound together by her trademark emotional vulnerability and technical wizardry.

Great conversation with composer extraordinaire, Emmy Award-winning and Grammy® nominated Adam Schoenberg who has been named among the top 10 most performed living composers by orchestras in the United States twice. His works have received performances and premieres at the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Hollywood Bowl. In this episode we talk about his musical family and his direct relation to George Gershwin. He talks about the very different experience he felt attending the Oberlin Conservatory VS The Juilliard School, the importance of having a support network, the path that took him to Los Angeles and to start a family there. He also shares details about the process of writing the Cello Concerto "Automation" for a human soloist and a hologram using technology and Artificial Intelligence, and some secrets to his huge success!

Last episode of Season 2 of Down the Pit, and final part of our conversation with Film & TV Composer Jeff Cardoni. Jeff’s talents range from intimate independent fare to full orchestral majesty. With over 45 feature film scores and several network series to his credit, one can hear his work worldwide every day. His unique ability to cross genres has made him a power-ful player in the film composing industry.  In this episode Jeff compares writing for TV vs Film, staying true to himself and usually going for 1st takes, his amazing experience writing for the show Heels, his solo album Nuovo Futuro, reviews, advice for people trying to get into the industry, a lot of laughter and a wonderful way to end Season 2 and 2021. Happy New Year to all and please stay tuned for the launching of Season 3!

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Co-hosts: Sami Merdinian: @samimerdinian - Ian Loew: @lunchmeat1836 -

Producer: Sami Merdinian - Assistant Producer: Chris Ellis

https://www.downthepit.com

https://www.jeffcardoni.com/

@jeff_cardoni