Performance #1
Wine & Cheese Reception: 6:00 - 7:00PM
Concert: 7:00PM - 8:00PM
Performance #2
Wine & Cheese Reception: 7:30 - 8:30PM
Concert: 8:30PM - 9:30PM
Violinist, visionary, and DoC veteran Curtis Stewart celebrates Valentine’s Day in the Crypt, with his Grammy-nominated program of Love. An extended musical poem and prayer in memory of his mother, Stewart reimagines music by artists ranging from Alice Coltrane and Duke Ellington to Johannes Brahms and Henry Purcell, exploring his mother’s immeasurable artistic impact while grappling with the feelings of grief, remembrance, identity and hope that inevitably follow loss.
Forget your Hallmark holiday – come share in the true meaning of Love, as one of today’s most vibrant musical minds takes us on a journey of life, time, and lifetimes, in the hopes of holding on just a little bit longer…
This program weaves works from of Love. with newly-commissioned works for violin and orchestra, inspired by my continued experimentation combining voice and electronics. In addition to music from of Love., it will include a reworking of some of Vivaldi's Four Seasons I did for the Phoenix Symphony, entitled "Seasons of Change", a medley from a violin concerto I've written for the Chicago Symphony, and Grief Monologues that was commissioned by NYC radio station WQXR, which frames voice memos submitted by radio listeners around the theme of love lost.
– Curtis Stewart
Praised for “combining omnivory and brilliance” (The New York Times), four-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 in constant 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. Stewart’s 2023 album of Love., a tribute to his late mother Elektra Kurtis-Stewart, has been nominated under Best Instrumental Solo in the 2024 GRAMMY Awards.