Pete's Percussion Podcast: Episode 446 - Cassidy Lester

Executive Director for the Symphony of the Mountains Orchestra, Percussionist, Freelancer, and Educator Cassidy Lester stops by to talk about her work with the Symphony (03:05), her freelancing and teaching and how important performing is to her mental health (16:30), growing up in the Tri-Cities region of Tennessee, traveling with family to jam band concerts, getting into percussion, and her unique marching experiences (31:30), attending East Tennessee State University, getting her undergrad and MBA degrees, and how COVID changed her path (51:20), and finishing with the Random Ass Questions, including discussions of instrument stereotyping, the Pride and Prejudice movie from the mid-2000s, the Fourth Wing books, and great artwork (01:12:05).

Finishing with a Rave on the 2022 nonfiction book Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld (01:52:00).

Cassidy Lester links:

Symphony of the Mountains

Previous Podcast Guests mentioned:

Matthew Geiger in 2019

Evan Chapman in 2019

Andy Bliss in 2023

Other Links:

David Mitchell

Diana Loomer

Morgan Tao

Blue Iron Percussion

The Planets - Gustav Holst

Don Felder

“The Hero” - Clarice Assad (arr. TCP)

“Second Thoughts” - Evan Chapman

“Re(new)al” - Viet Cuong

“Happy Now” - Blue Iron Community Steel Band

“Watercolor Sun” - Ivan Trevino

Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival

The 1927 Bristol Sessions

Widespread Panic live

“Esther” - Phish

“Cassidy” - The Grateful Dead

“Welcome to the Black Parade” - My Chemical Romance

Rande Sanderbeck

Pride and Prejudice Original Soundtrack

Pride and Prejudice trailer

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind trailer

IT trailer (1990)

Avengers: Endgame trailer

The LEGO Movie trailer

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part trailer

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel J. Levitin

Musicophilia - Oliver Sacks

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

Rhinoceros Success - Scott Alexander

Heaven Breaker - Sara Wolf

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars - Christopher Paolini

Vampire Diaries: Season 1 trailer

Red - John Logan

Four Darks in Red - Mark Rothko

The Stranger - Albert Camus

Long Day’s Journey into Night - Eugene O’Neill

Raves:

Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld - T. J. English