Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez: Press Kit

Extra Short Bio

Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez is a coach, educator, oboist, and author of The Artist’s Joy. Through her workshops, her award-winning podcast Artists for Joy, and her one-to-one coaching, she is a spiritual space-maker for artists, leading thousands in various fields to creative recovery. Dr. Estevez has performed with top orchestras and holds degrees in oboe from The Juilliard School and Yale School of Music. Her next book, Art Is How God Loves Us, debuts in July 2026. She hails from Abbeville, SC but now lives in Metro Detroit, Michigan, with her husband, Rev. Dr. Edwin Estevez, and their two children.

Medium Bio

Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez is a creative catalyst, helping self-identified artists and the creatively curious discover and recover the joy of making. As an oboist, Merideth has performed with top orchestras in the US and abroad and has served on the faculties of numerous universities and schools of music, including the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Delaware. She holds degrees from Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School.

Her writing illuminates the spiritual journey of the artist through the lens of creative nonfiction, exploring the intersection of art, faith, and the human experience. Her award-winning podcast, Artists for Joy, is currently in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, and her first book, The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life, debuted at No. 1 in the Creativity category on Audible. She shares poems and essays weekly on her popular Substack, “Arts Open Door,” and her second book, “Art Is How God Loves Us,” debuts in July 2026.

As a speaker, Merideth has been featured at Google, Hunter College’s Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning and Leading (C-SELL), Wild Goose Festival, Longy School of Music, ShePodcasts LIVE, Music Institute of Chicago, and more. As a coach, she has helped thousands of artists overcome creative block through her popular online creative recovery clusters and serves as a coach for all types of artists and arts leaders, from major museum directors to deans of art schools to writers for TV and film to Emmy-winning actors to hip hop artists.

Since moving to Metro Detroit, Michigan, she has performed as a featured artist with Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and numerous national and international performing ensembles. She returns to NYC regularly to perform the Chamber Orchestra of NY, as their second oboist/English hornist. She enjoys sharing her gifts as artist-in-residence at Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), where her husband, Rev. Dr. Edwin Estevez, is Senior Pastor.

 When she’s not playing oboe or writing, Merideth enjoys baking sourdough while listening to audiobooks. She hails from Abbeville, SC, but now lives in Bloomfield Hills, MI with her husband and two children.

MEDIUM MUSIC BIO

 An active freelancer and sought-after recitalist, oboist Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez has performed and taught throughout North and South America, Asia, and Europe.  She has performed with top orchestras in the US and abroad, including the Met Opera Orchestra and PhillyPops, and is currently the English hornist/Second Oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of NY. She has served on the faculties of numerous universities and schools of music, most recently as Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Delaware. As the founder and director of "Artists for Joy," she invites artists into community to unleash joy in the creation of art and to consider creativity as a spiritual practice. Her writing illuminates the spiritual journey of the artist through the lens of creative nonfiction, exploring the intersection of art, faith, and the human experience. Her award-winning podcast, Artists for Joy, is currently in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, and her first book, The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life, debuted at No. 1 in the Creativity category on Audible. She shares poems and essays weekly on her popular Substack, “Arts Open Door.” Her second book, Art Is How God Loves Us, launches in July 2026.

When she’s not playing oboe or writing, Merideth enjoys baking sourdough while listening to audiobooks. She hails from Abbeville, SC, but now lives in Bloomfield Hills, MI with her husband and two children.

Long Bio

“Luminous sound and gorgeous phrasing…remarkable…exquisite.” American Record Guide (2018)

An active freelancer and sought-after recitalist, oboist Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez has performed and taught throughout North and South America, Asia, and Europe. Orchestrally, she is currently the English hornist for the Chamber Orchestra of NY, and has also performed with PhillyPOPS, OperaDelaware, Metropolitan Opera (NYC), American Symphony (NYC) as well as innovative shows with cutting-edge groups like Experiential Orchestra (NYC). Her education has taken her all over the world—Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Yale School of Music, Fulbright Scholar to Germany, and to The Juilliard School where she received for her doctorate in oboe.

As a speaker, Merideth has been featured at Google, Hunter College’s Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning and Leading (C-SELL), Wild Goose Festival, Longy School of Music, ShePodcasts LIVE, Music Institute of Chicago, and more. As a coach, she has helped thousands of artists overcome creative block through her popular online creative recovery clusters and serves as a coach for all types of artists and arts leaders, from major museum directors to deans of art schools to writers for TV and film to Emmy-winning actors to hip hop artists.

Her writing illuminates the spiritual journey of the artist through the lens of creative nonfiction, exploring the intersection of art, faith, and the human experience. Her award-winning podcast, Artists for Joy, is currently in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, and her first book, The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life, debuted at No. 1 in the Creativity category on Audible. She shares poems and essays weekly on her popular Substack, “Arts Open Door.” Her second book, “Art Is How God Loves Us,” launches in July 2026.

Merideth has also held positions at numerous universities and schools of music, including the University of Delaware School of Music, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston Salem), The University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg), and the Music Institute of Chicago, while she was in residence with Fifth House Ensemble, an innovative ten-piece chamber ensemble in Chicago.

Since moving to Metro Detroit, Michigan, she has performed as a featured artist with Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and numerous national and international performing ensembles. She enjoys sharing her gifts as artist-in-residence at Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), where her husband, Rev. Dr. Edwin Estevez, is Senior Pastor.

A passionate teaching artist, Merideth loves taking her oboe everywhere she goes in hopes of making music accessible to all types of audiences. She has completed teaching artist training over three summers at Lincoln Center Education in NYC and has also received instruction in their groundbreaking Aesthetic Education curriculum. She's worked in classrooms all across Delaware, NYC, and Detroit with Lincoln Center Education, Delaware Institute for Arts in Education, and Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings.

When she’s not playing oboe or writing, Merideth enjoys baking sourdough while listening to audiobooks. She hails from Abbeville, SC, but now lives in Bloomfield Hills, MI with her husband and two children.