We recently connected with Sam Genualdi and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Raised by a professional violinist and a classical music radio producer, it’s safe to say that I was surrounded by and steeped in music from the beginning. Moreover, having grown up in Evanston, IL, all the culture and music that the city of Chicago has to offer was at my fingertips. This abundance of music in my life certainly cultivated a love of music in me, as well as fertile ground to develop my skills, but simultaneously it also led me to take music for granted in my life. I subconsciously believed that I would always be able to see phenomenal music any night of the week, and have wonderful musicians to play with whenever I want. This illusion came crashing down for me when I moved away for college as an undeclared liberal arts student at a small liberal arts college in rural Pennsylvania. Almost immediately upon my arrival I fully realized what I had taken for granted, and how important music, and the communities that it cultivates, mean to me. Finding myself in a community that didn’t prioritize music, and didn’t have many dedicated musicians or a thriving music scene left me feeling empty. After having that realization, I began to practice and make music independently more than I ever had, and ultimately transferred to the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. A much more musically engaged environment that was instrumental in my growth as a musician and artist.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer living and working in Chicago, IL. I hold a Bachelor of Music Degree in Contemporary Improvisation from Lawrence University, and am adept in many styles of music including pop, rock. RnB, jazz, and folk traditions from the US and around the world. I have performed around the country and the world as a guitarist, and have been featured on dozens of recordings as a session musician.

My focus in my work is in production and songwriting for artists, both remotely and locally in Chicago. I bring a unique blend of skills to the process, as a ‘full-package’ producer capable of helping my clients with the entire process of creating a song start-to-finish. I am able to help write, produce, record and mix the songs for my clients including playing all of the instruments on the recorded product. My greatest strength is an intuitive ability to connect with the artists I work with to bring to life their vision in a sensitive way. I always prioritize holding the work of my clients with the utmost care, and believe that in an open and comfortable environment we can create our best work.

I work out of a studio in the exceedingly cute neighborhood of Andersonville in Chicago. I record everything in-house, including guitars, bass, drums, acoustic piano, synthesizers and pretty much anything else you can imagine to make highly professional and polished sounding records. Additionally, I have a deep contact list of professionals in town, so if the music calls for violin, trumpet, sitar or anything else, I know who to call to make it happen.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After graduating from college I was very fortunate to be awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship which enabled me to spend 12 months in 2017/18 traveling independently studying music in 7 countries. I traveled to Scotland, Armenia, Peru, Brazil, Mozambique, Japan and Indonesia over the course of that year. Having never traveled solo internationally before, in many ways I threw myself into the deep end and forced myself to learn on my feet. The Fellowship provides the grant that pays for the trip (of course an immense privilege in and of itself), but there is virtually no other institutional support. It is up to the fellow to make connections and build purpose into each day. I think on the surface it sounds like a dream come true, to have a year of travel payed for, and in many ways it is! But it is also immensely challenging and lonely. Each day I had to overcome new challenges, both internal and external. My life became the counterpoint between rediscovering my own identity in all of these new places that I had never been, and figuring out the simplest things like how to communicate or get around. Language, cultural difference, being away from family and the physical toll of never spending more than a couple weeks in one place were parts of my life that year that I had no choice but to learn how to embrace.

A specific story from that year that I think illustrates how I grew, and shows my resilience comes from the first week or so that I spent in Mozambique. I was in a city near the border with Zimbabwe called Chimoio. I had chosen that place because I hoped I would be able to find a teacher there who could instruct me in the instrument Mbira (sometimes mistaken for a kalimba, or called a thumb piano). I had been told that the culture-bearers of the mbira tradition could be found in the area, but I didn’t have a specific contact in the area. So each day after my arrival, I would wander the town and the markets asking the people I would meet if they knew anyone who played the mbira. And each day I went back the home I was staying in defeated. It seemed I had literally flown across the world only to strike out and not find the music I was searching for. Each day it felt harder to go to the same places and have the same conversations, I felt that I had failed and I wasn’t deserving of the opportunity I had been given. One day, I went to the market for lunch, and I decided to walk home a different way. On my way back I almost tripped over a man who was sitting on the ground. I looked down and began to apologize when, to my surprise, I see that in his lap he is making an mbira! We spoke and I explained that I had traveled to Chimoio to study this instrument and he agreed to teach me. We spent every day together for the rest of my time in Mozambique, making music and learning from each other. We were fast friends and I learned so much from him. This kind of tenacity and openness to opportunity is what underpinned my whole year as a Watson Fellow.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My ultimate goal in my pursuit of music is always to foster welcoming community. In my childhood I benefited from the wonderful community of people in the classical music world. As I have grown up and become an industry professional I am constantly amazed and pleasantly surprised by the kindness and openness of people who choose to dedicate their lives to music. I hope to broaden the embrace of music through sharing music, space and life with people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Music is a powerful force to bridge gaps between groups of people, I have seen that time and again through my life and travels. My hope is that my music career can be centered on continuing that legacy and bringing the world closer together, one song at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://samgenualdi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samgenualdimusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamGenualdi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZqsNLemnEAsYcX0NqS72zA