July 14, 2025
The Phoenix Symphony is proud to share news from its Health and Wellness programs, highlighting a collaboration with Circle the City during the REVERB Contemporary Music Festival in April 2024. This partnership, fostering connections since 2016 through regular musician visits to Circle the City sites, reached a new peak.
GRAMMY-nominated violinist and composer Curtis Stewart spent time engaging with Circle the City patients and staff in group discussions. From these heartfelt conversations, Stewart gathered insights that formed the basis of his composition, “Season of Change.” This Afrofuturist meditation on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons uses classical frameworks to spark contemporary conversation around climate change, class, and the nature of digital memory, centering the existential impact of these issues on unhoused individuals.
The world premiere of “Season of Change,” featuring the voices of Circle the City patients, first heard by audiences at REVERB on April 18 and 20, 2024, at the Herberger Theater. Each performance included an panel discussion with Curtis Stewart, Music Director Tito Muñoz, Phoenix Symphony musicians Leslie Frey Anderegg and Tessa Gotman Bock, and representatives from Circle the City. The conversations explored how timeless works can address contemporary issues and inspire support for organizations combatting the effects of climate change.
Building on these premieres, Curtis Stewart’s album, titled Seasons of Change, was released in June 2025. This album features the recorded voices of individuals experiencing homelessness in Phoenix, captured through this impactful partnership. The project’s purpose is to document the effects of climate change on the unhoused, demonstrating how classical music can foster empathy and direct support towards those most affected. We are proud of this collaboration and its commitment to utilizing music as a civic engine for progress and well-being.
