Curtis Stewart

Biography

Praised for “combining omnivory and brilliance” (The New York Times), six-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated violinist and composer Curtis Stewart translates stories of American self-determination to the concert stage. Tearing down the facade of “classical violinist,” Stewart is inconstant pursuit of his musical authenticity, treating art as a battery for realizing citizenship.

As a solo violinist, composer, Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, professor at The Juilliard School, and member of award-winning ensembles PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail, he realizes a vision to find personal and powerful connections between styles, cultures and musics.

He has been awarded a 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, in recognition of extraordinary leaders in the classical music field who are transforming lives while addressing systemic obstacles within Black and Latino communities.

As a soloist, Curtis Stewart has been presented by Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cal Performances, Washington Performing Arts, Virginia Arts Festival, The Juilliard School, and the 2022 GRAMMY® Awards, among many others. He has made special appearances with Los Angeles Opera and singer-songwriter Tamar Kali; as curator and guest soloist with Anthony Roth Costanzo and the New York Philharmonic “Bandwagon,” touring performance installations from NYC’s Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, and Museum of Modern Art; to MTV specials with Wyclef Jean; and sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Seal.

Both Stewart’s 2021 album of quarantined song cycles and art videos, Of Power(Bright Shiny Things), and his 2023 album, of Love.—a tribute to his late mother Elektra Kurtis-Stewart—were nominated for GRAMMY® Awards for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. His recording of Julia Perry’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with the Experiential Orchestra (Bright Shiny Things)is nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

Stewart has been commissioned to compose new solo, chamber, and orchestral works by the Seattle Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall’s Play/USA, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and members of the New York Philharmonic, The Knights, La Jolla Music Society, Sybarite5, the New York Festival of Song, Newport Classical Festival, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Eastman Cello Institute, Orlando Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and more.

In 2022, he was named Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, a national organization dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by diverse and innovative American composers.

An enthusiastic educator, Curtis Stewart currently teaches at The Juilliard School and the Perlman Music Program, and for ten years led all levels of music theory and orchestra at the LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts in NYC.

Photo Credit: Titilayo Ayangade

"The huzzahs, hurrahs indicated a huge fan club… For over two hours, one could forget the Shahams and Bells and Mutters of the world. Mr. Stewart played with the most glorious tones, both dulcet and demanding. His gymnastics up and down the fiddle were not only seamless but seemingly effortless. Even more, no matter what the eclectic sections, every single note coming from Mr. Stewart could have been part of a Paganini cadenza, give or take a century or two."

CONCERTONET