Down the Pit
Down the Pit
Recent Episodes
Great conversation with Executive Director of Mata Festival Pauline Kim Harris and featured composer Jessie Cox.
Music at the Anthology (MATA) celebrates its 27th Annual Festival with performances at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn from June 11th to 14th 2025
Titled Intergalactic Infinity: Music Between Spaces, the festival promises to be an incredible few days of sounds, creativity and imagination, that will blow your mind.
The episode serves as a way to dive in into the world of MATA, the process of curating a festival of this caliber, and a behind the scene view into the creative process of composers, their source of inspiration, their grit, how they view the future of music and a lot of fun topics you will love!
We cannot wait for you to learn more about MATA
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
For tickets and passes click HERE
Guests:
Pauline Kim Harris - https://www.paulinekimharris.com/
Jessie Cox - https://www.jessiecoxmusic.com/
A highly entertaining and informative conversation with 6 time GRAMMY-nominated violinist & composer
Curtis 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://jessicameyermusic.com/
@jessicameyermusic