Seven-time GRAMMY-nominated violinist and composer Curtis Stewart brings his singular vision to Nova Linea Musica in Between Worlds: an evening that dissolves the boundaries between classical, jazz, and American vernacular traditions. Stewart's artistry has been described by The New York Times as "combining omnivory and brilliance," and the program he brings to Guarneri Hall reflects exactly that: a musician in constant pursuit of his own authenticity, treating the violin as a vehicle for storytelling, citizenship, and creative reinvention.
The evening features the world premiere of a Nova Linea Musica commission, written for Stewart and continuing our mission to resource the creation of new chamber music and bring composers, performers, and listeners into the same room. The composer will be in attendance to celebrate the premiere.
Stewart arrives at Guarneri Hall with one of the most distinctive resumes in American music. As a soloist, composer, and Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, he has been presented by Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the 2022 GRAMMY Awards, and has shared stages with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and the New York Philharmonic. His recent recorded work spans his Afrofuturist recomposition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Seasons of Change, Bright Shiny Things), his GRAMMY-nominated tribute to his late mother (of Love.), and a 2026 GRAMMY nomination for his arrangement of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's 24 Negro Melodies. He is a member of the GRAMMY-nominated PUBLIQuartet, a 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and a faculty member at The Juilliard School.
Born into a musical family (father Bob Stewart, the avant-garde jazz tuba pioneer; mother Elektra Kurtis, the Greek jazz violinist), Stewart has built a body of work shaped by daring improvisation, rigorous classical training, and conceptual composition in equal measure. The evening offers a portrait of that synthesis: the violin as instrument of inheritance and invention, of tradition and transformation, of where we have come from and where we are going.
Tonight's program continues our commitment to championing the most distinctive voices of our time: an evening Between Worlds, with one of American music's most fearless and original artists.
