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| Stew and Heidi Rodewald | |
|---|---|
| Name | Stew and Heidi Rodewald |
| Occupation | Musicians, songwriters, composers, producers |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
Stew and Heidi Rodewald are an American songwriting and composing duo known for blending indie rock, orchestral arrangement, and soundtrack composition. They have collaborated across pop, theater, film, and television, engaging with artists, ensembles, and institutions in the United States and internationally. Their work spans album production, theatrical scores, commercial jingles, and television underscores, earning recognition from peer organizations and media outlets.
Stew grew up in a milieu connected to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest music scenes, while Heidi Rodewald's formative years included exposure to conservatory training and regional arts institutions. Both studied aspects of composition and performance at post-secondary institutions that intersect with programs at Berklee College of Music, New York University, Juilliard School, and regional conservatories, and their timelines intersect with the itineraries of alumni from Oberlin Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, and CalArts. Early mentors and teachers included figures active in the networks around Grammy Awards, Sundance Film Festival, and South by Southwest, and they participated in workshops associated with organizations such as ASCAP and BMI.
Their careers encompass collaborations with independent labels, major record producers, and theatrical companies linked to Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Kennedy Center. Stew and Heidi have worked alongside recording artists and songwriters from the circles of R.E.M., Sufjan Stevens, They Might Be Giants, Neko Case, and members of Wilco, while engaging arrangers who have scored for The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, and Arcade Fire. In theater and musical theater they have collaborated with directors and playwrights connected to Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Second Stage Theater. Their session work and production credits include studio musicians with histories at Capitol Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Sub Pop Records.
They have also contributed to projects involving television composers and producers affiliated with HBO, Netflix, and PBS, and have recorded with ensembles that have performed at Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Sydney Opera House. Touring and festival appearances intersect with programming at Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Montreux Jazz Festival, and they have participated in residency programs tied to New York Foundation for the Arts and MacDowell Colony.
Their catalogue includes indie albums, orchestral arrangements, and commissioned pieces for theater productions and documentary films. Notable entries in their body of work are compositions performed at venues associated with Metropolitan Opera, scores featured in screenings at Tribeca Film Festival, and tracks licensed for anthology series on PBS and Showtime. They have provided string arrangements and horn charts for recording projects by artists who have released through Matador Records, Merge Records, and Merge Records-adjacent collectives, and their songwriting credits appear alongside artists who have charted on lists compiled by Billboard.
Commission commissions have linked them to institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian Institution, and performing ensembles including The Brooklyn Youth Chorus and chamber groups with affiliations to Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and regional philharmonics. Their works have been presented in contexts alongside programming curated by New York Philharmonic outreach initiatives and collaborative series with Guggenheim Museum events.
Stew and Heidi's music has been synchronized in media projects produced by companies like A24, Focus Features, and independent production companies with distribution relationships at Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Classics. Their television placements have included episodic spots on networks and platforms associated with ABC, NBC, and FX, and streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video. They have composed cues for documentaries screened at Sundance Film Festival and for series broadcast on PBS and cable channels whose programming has premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.
In commercial work, they have created music for campaigns by brands represented in collaborations with agencies connected to Wieden+Kennedy, Droga5, and BBDO, and their sonic branding has appeared alongside visuals produced by post-production houses with credits for work on Super Bowl advertisements.
Their work has been acknowledged by industry organizations and festivals that grant honors akin to Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, and Grammy Awards in allied categories, and they have been finalists and recipients of prizes from songwriting and composition competitions administered by ASCAP Foundation, Graham Foundation, and regional arts councils. Selected projects have received juried awards at film festivals including Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival, and their theater collaborations have been short-listed for honors presented by institutions such as Obie Awards and Drama Desk Awards.
Additionally, residency awards and grants have come from entities like MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and municipal arts funding arms present in cities such as New York City and Los Angeles.
Their partnership reflects both personal and professional collaboration, drawing influence from a wide array of performers, composers, and cultural institutions. Influences cited include songwriters and composers from the catalogs of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and contemporary arrangers associated with Brian Eno, Jonny Greenwood, and Paul McCartney's orchestral collaborators. Inspirations also stem from film composers whose careers trace through Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Philip Glass, and Danny Elfman, and from theater practitioners linked to Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and directors working with The Public Theater.
They maintain residences that facilitate work with regional scenes centered in New York City and the West Coast, participating in panels and lectures at universities and institutions including Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, and conservatory-affiliated forums. Their ongoing collaborations continue to intersect with a network of musicians, producers, theaters, festivals, and media organizations.
Category:American songwriters Category:American composers