Classical Interludes: Curtis Stewart
Told through video, violin, verse and electronics, Of Power is a contemporary "coming of agency" story - Grappling with themes of resilience, resistance and the nature of power, Curtis Stewart weaves a confessional narrative, through the lens of a Black man searching for authenticity in classical music - Original compositions and virtuosic re-compositions of Charlie Parker, J.S. Bach, John Coltrane, Eugene Ysaye, Stevie Wonder, Childish Gambino, and Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson serve as vehicles for a post-classical visual album inspired by personal adversity and bolstered by the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Grammy-nominated violinist Curtis Stewart enjoys an eclectic career bouncing between various realms of music: from MTV specials with Wyclef Jean and sold out shows at Madison Square Garden with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Seal, to stints at the Kennedy center with the Jimmy Heath Big Band and performance installations at the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Curtis has performed as a classical soloist at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, as a special guest soloist/curator with the New York Philharmonic, made chamber music appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Newport Jazz Festival. His ensembles PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail realize a vision to find personal and powerful connections between styles, cultures and musics. Curtis has worked with today's forward thinking musicians including Henry Threadgill, Alicia Hall-Moran and Jason Moran, Mark O’Connor, members of International Contemporary Ensemble, Billy Childs, Diane Monroe, the JACK quartet, members of Snarky Puppy, Don Byron, Linda Oh, Ari Hoenig, Matt Wilson, among many others.
An avid teacher, he has taught Chamber Music and “Cultural Equity and Performance Practice” at the Juilliard School, directed several orchestras and levels of music theory at the Laguardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts for ten years, and is currently the Chamber Music and New Juilliard Ensemble Manager at the Juilliard School, in New York City. Curtis graduated magna cum laude from the Eastman School of Music with a BA of Mathematics from the University of Rochester. curtisjstewart.com
This video will premiere on BPLvideos and on Facebook @BPLPresents.
Classical Interludes is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and support by Dr. Beverly S. Jacobs, Jane Brody Engquist and many generous individuals.
Told through video, violin, verse and electronics, Of Power is a contemporary "coming of agency" story - Grappling with themes of resilience, resistance and the nature of power, Curtis Stewart weaves a confessional narrative, through the lens of a Black man searching for authenticity in classical music - Original compositions and virtuosic re-compositions of Charlie Parker, J.S. Bach, John Coltrane, Eugene Ysaye, Stevie Wonder, Childish Gambino, and Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson serve as vehicles for a post-classical visual album inspired by personal adversity and bolstered by the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Grammy-nominated violinist Curtis Stewart enjoys an eclectic career bouncing between various realms of music: from MTV specials with Wyclef Jean and sold out shows at Madison Square Garden with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Seal, to stints at the Kennedy center with the Jimmy Heath Big Band and performance installations at the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Curtis has performed as a classical soloist at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, as a special guest soloist/curator with the New York Philharmonic, made chamber music appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Newport Jazz Festival. His ensembles PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail realize a vision to find personal and powerful connections between styles, cultures and musics. Curtis has worked with today's forward thinking musicians including Henry Threadgill, Alicia Hall-Moran and Jason Moran, Mark O’Connor, members of International Contemporary Ensemble, Billy Childs, Diane Monroe, the JACK quartet, members of Snarky Puppy, Don Byron, Linda Oh, Ari Hoenig, Matt Wilson, among many others.
An avid teacher, he has taught Chamber Music and “Cultural Equity and Performance Practice” at the Juilliard School, directed several orchestras and levels of music theory at the Laguardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts for ten years, and is currently the Chamber Music and New Juilliard Ensemble Manager at the Juilliard School, in New York City. Curtis graduated magna cum laude from the Eastman School of Music with a BA of Mathematics from the University of Rochester. curtisjstewart.com
This video will premiere on BPLvideos and on Facebook @BPLPresents.
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