All aboard Curtis Stewart's special program, 'I Am the Migration'

The American rail system is a metaphor for how culture has changed over the centuries. Movement is freeing, because one can escape certain oppressions, but it also leaves holes in one’s personal memory that can be hard to overcome. For violinist and composer Curtis Stewart, creation is a way of overcoming.

To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, Stewart looked to his own family's American story and used it as inspiration for his new set of 24 American Caprices.

Join Stewart as he hosts I Am the Migration, an hourlong program featuring his newly recorded caprices where he interviews his father about how the movement of their family shaped a sense of identity and reinvention.

Stewart’s 24 American Caprices was co-commissioned by American Public Media, the Juilliard School Kayden commissioning program, the Kaufman Music Center, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and Deborah Buck.

Playlist

This playlist features selections from Stewart’s 24 American Caprices. The composers and songs listed below are the inspiration for each respective caprice. To read the complete program notes for this composition, visit Curtis’ official website.

• xiv. James Weldon Johnson: Lift Every Voice and Sing - D major

• xv. Sister Rosetta Tharpe: This Train - B-flat major

• xvii. Billy Strayhorn: Take the A Train - C major

• xx. Nina Simone: Young Gifted and Black - Eb major

• viii. Taylor Swift: Shake it Off - G major

• iii. John Coltrane: Giant Steps - B major

• iv. Bob Dylan: Blowing in the Wind - A major

• x. Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi - E major

• ix. Oscar Peterson: Hymn to Freedom - C major

• xvii. Billy Strayhorn: Take the A Train - C major

• xi. Kendrick Lamar: Complexion - B-flat major

• xxii. Duke Ellington/ Ella Fitzgerald: Mood Indigo - A-flat major

To listen to the complete album, visit Stewart’s official website.