Violinist Curtis Stewart Awarded 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence

August 30, 2024, 5:25 PM · This week violinist and composer Curtis Stewart was awarded the 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor given by the Sphinx Organization, the social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of the arts. The award comes with a $50,000 career grant.

Violinist Curtis Stewart.

The Sphinx Medal of Excellence was started in 2012 to "recognize extraordinary leaders in the classical music field who are transforming lives while addressing the systemic obstacles within Black and Latino communities." Previous recipients have included violinists Tai Murray, Elena Urioste, Danielle Belen, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Jessie Montgomery, Randall Goosby, as well as other instrumental musicians, singers, conductors and composers. Others 2025 recipients included soprano Gabriella Reyes and pianist Clayton Stephenson.

"Previous recipients of this medal have been friends, colleagues, and personal musical heroes — I have spoken to them and looked to their output, ideas, career path, personal vibe, and general work ethic to inform and inspire my own," Stewart said. "I am incredibly honored to receive this medal; it sparks deep encouragement and new found responsibility to walk forward with assurance, energy, and to sharpen and steady my vision for the short, intermediate, and long term goals of ‘carving space’ in classical music."

A four-time Grammy nominee, Stewart is 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 holds residencies at Boston University's Tanglewood Institute, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and serves as Resident Artist at Kaufman Music Center. Stewart currently teaches at The Juilliard School and the Perlman Music Program, and for 10 years led all levels of music theory and orchestra at the LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts in NYC.

As the Sphinx Virtuosi's 2024-25 Composer-in-Residence, Stewart’s compositions will be featured on the nationwide Sphinx Virtuosi: Portraits of the Past, Visions for the Future tour, including the world premiere of Stewart’s work "Drill," co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall. That piece will be premiered on October 16 at Carnegie Hall (click here for more information).

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Violinist Curtis Stewart Awarded 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence

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