Monica Felkel Creative Partners announces the signing of four-time GRAMMY® nominee violinist and composer Curtis Stewart

New York, NY (February 6, 2024)

Monica Felkel Creative Partners announces the signing of four-time GRAMMY® nominee violinist and composer Curtis Stewart  to its roster for worldwide general management, effective immediately.

Praised for “combining omnivory and brilliance” by The New York Times, Stewart is heralded for tearing down the facade of the “classical violinist” by translating stories of universal self-determination, expression, and experience to the concert stage and finding deeply personal and powerful connections between styles, cultures, and genres. The Strad wrote: "…profound and deeply moving - his solo violin playing was brilliant and passionate. ... in a performance that reached an impassioned climax before dissolving away into tenderness." About his performance at the 2022 Chicago Jazz String Summit, Downbeat Magazine raves: “[Stewart’s] über passionate and virtuosic outpourings … grapple with reconciling the classical and jazz camps… it was abundantly clear that Stewart is capable of practically anything on his instrument. He throws his whole body and soul into a performance.”

Curtis Stewart is a solo violinist, composer, recording artist, Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, professor at The Juilliard School, and member of the award-winning ensembles PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail.

As a highly sought after soloist whose performances been described as “brilliant and passionate" (The Strad), Stewart has performed for Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Cal Performances, and Washington Performing Arts, among many other distinguished venues and presenters. Stewart’s 2024 engagements include concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, and Phoenix Symphony.

Stewart’s commissions for new works include the Seattle Symphony, Carnegie Hall, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and members of the New York Philharmonic, The Knights, La Jolla Music Society, Sybarite5, the New York Festival of Song, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Eastman Cello Institute. In March 2023, the Virginia Symphony commissioned Stewart to compose The Famous People, five recompositions of Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances, which were premiered by violinist Gil Shaham. At the premiere of his piano quintet The Gilded Cage at Newport Classical the Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote: “Stewart weds the discipline and structure of a classical conservatory trained composer-performer, with the creative freshness of jazz, rap, and other modern popular styles. He hears the African American voice as part of something bigger and truly American, and crosses lines of color and culture with ease, preferring instead to see a rich tapestry of peoples interconnected by their stories and their musics.”

In addition to performing live at the 2022 GRAMMY® Awards, Stewart has received four GRAMMY® Award nominations, his 2023 album Of Love (New Amsterdam) and his 2021 album Of Power (Bright Shiny Things) were both nominated for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.  Recordings with the PUBLIQuartet received nominations for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, What Is American in 2023 and Freedom & Faith and 2019, (both on Bright Shiny Things).

With Monica Felkel Creative Partners, Stewart joins a distinguished list of dynamic artists and “creative partners” that includes composer and performers Kinan Azmeh (clarinet), Kenji Bunch (viola), D. J. Sparr (electric guitar); conductors Fawzi Haimor, Norman Huynh, Julian Pellicano; cellist Jonathan Swensen; pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko; the musical genre bending ensemble Kinan Azmeh's CityBand , the classical jazz band The Hot Sardines;  Strathmore’s Artist in Residence (AIR) program; early music soloist, director, and conductor Aisslinn Nosky; and jazz performer and composer Ed Sarath.

Monica J. Felkel, President of Monica Felkel Creative Partners said, “As a longtime fan, I am thrilled to begin this new partnership with Curtis. Beyond highlighting his evident his obvious virtuosic technical abilities, remarkable musicality, and impressive cross-genre versatility, Curtis’s singular insight, passion, and artistry allow him to reach multiple audiences in unique and profound ways. The global impact of his contributions to music is poised to be nothing short of phenomenal.”

“I am so excited to be working with Monica!" Stewart said. "I have seen her do great things with so many of my near and dear friends and music shakers, I can’t believe it’s finally my turn! We are going to rock and roll!”

For more information about Curtis Stewart

For information about Monica Felkel Creative Partners

Photo credit: Titilayo Ayangade