Violinist Curtis Stewart's New Album, "Seasons of Change"

The album features a recomposition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons as a framework for an Afrofuturist meditation on climate change, class, and the nature of digital memory

Bright Shiny Things Records announced the release of New York-based violinist and Six-Time GRAMMY®-Nominee Curtis Stewart's new album, Seasons of Change.

In collaboration with Sybarite5, a string quintet comprising violinists Sami Merdinian and Suliman Tekalli, violist Caeli Smith, cellist Laura Andrade, and double bassist Louis Levitt, Seasons of Change is a recomposition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons used as the framework for an Afrofuturist meditation on climate change, class, and the nature of digital memory.

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

The album features a partnership between the Phoenix Symphony and Circle the City, a non-profit organization providing healthcare to individuals experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County, Arizona. It highlights the voices of individuals in the community experiencing homelessness.

"The purpose of this work is to document the effects of climate change on those who are unhoused," shared Curtis. "My hope is the ethos and pathos of these conversations will drive support of those sitting in symphonic audiences toward those doing the effective work to combat the effects of climate change."

Listen to "An Introduction of Sorts" below:

The program for Seasons of Change premiered with the Phoenix Symphony in April 2024. Curtis Stewart and Sybarite5 will continue bringing Seasons of Change on tour this year, including public conversations and interviews with the unhoused population around the impact of climate change on their daily lives.

A member of the award-winning ensembles PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail, Stewart has also served Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra since 2022. In addition, he is a celebrated pedagogue and teaches Chamber Music, Improvised Chamber Music, and "Cultural Equity and Performance Practice" at The Juilliard School.

As a soloist, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Cal Performances, Washington Performing Arts, Virginia Arts Festival, and The Juilliard School, as well as at the 2022 GRAMMY Awards.

As a composer, Stewart has written new solo, chamber, and orchestral works for the Seattle Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall’s Play/USA, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, and members of the New York Philharmonic, among others.