{"id":681122,"date":"2025-12-01T15:41:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T20:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=681122"},"modified":"2025-12-01T15:41:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T20:41:27","slug":"review-fall-2025-class-that-changed-me-curtis-stewart-681122","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/review-fall-2025-class-that-changed-me-curtis-stewart-681122\/","title":{"rendered":"The class that changed me: Curtis Stewart \u201908, \u201908E"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Grammy nominee recalls the violin lessons at Eastman that at once terrified and inspired him.<\/h2>\n
\"Violinist
THE MUSIC MAN:<\/strong> Since graduating with degrees in mathematics and violin performance, Curtis Stewart \u201908, \u201908E has racked up seven Grammy nominations\u2014including a 2026 nod for best classical instrumental solo. (Photograph by Titilayo Ayangade)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a dual degree student majoring in mathematics and violin performance, Curtis Stewart<\/a> \u201908, \u201908E was used to challenging coursework. But no class at URochester impacted or challenged him more than his weekly violin lessons with the late Lynn Blakeslee<\/a>, an internationally acclaimed soloist and violin professor at\u00a0Eastman.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach week, you\u2019re one-on-one with this luminary violinist, and your self-esteem rides on her mood that day,\u201d says Stewart, a seven-time Grammy-nominated<\/a> violinist and composer and a professor at the Juilliard School in New York. \u201cMy hands would be trembling before every session.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart says Blakeslee, who died in 2015, wasn\u2019t shy about expressing her feelings. \u201cIf she didn\u2019t like it, she told you. But if she loved it, she\u2019d get very excited. She thrived on improvisation. One time, I suggested I couldn\u2019t be that creative. She looked me dead in the eye and said, \u2018Don\u2019t ever say that about yourself. You can do whatever you want.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after, Stewart performed a version of an Astor Piazzolla tango instead of the usual classical piece. \u201cBlakeslee loved it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was the most excited I ever saw her get.\u201d Stewart says the weekly sessions made him a better musician and teacher. \u201cThe searing feedback made me practice harder, but it also sometimes made me play worse, because I was so afraid. In my own teaching, I try to be as honest as I can while making sure the student doesn\u2019t want to run away. It\u2019s a balancing act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center and serves as artistic director of the American Composers Orchestra<\/a>. He was also the featured speaker\u2014and a performer\u2014at Eastman\u2019s graduation ceremony<\/a> in May. \u201cTalk about surreal,\u201d he says. \u201cI was playing at convocation, and all of my old teachers were sitting behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His message to graduates mirrored Blakeslee\u2019s advice years before: Never sell yourself short. \u201cI applied to so many things in college,\u201d he says, \u201cand didn\u2019t get a lot of them. But that didn\u2019t define me. I feel like my career is meaningful. No matter what you feel [now], your future is in front of you. You came from a great school, and you can build a meaningful career as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

This story appears in the fall 2025 issue of <\/em>Rochester Review<\/a>, the magazine of the\u00a0University of Rochester<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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