Jennifer Stumm
Encyclopedia
Life
Originally from Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and a graduate of The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools is a private school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1951 and tracing its origins to 1878, Westminster has the largest endowment of any non-boarding school in the United States...
, Stumm studied at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia where she was one of the last proteges of the viola pedagogue Karen Tuttle
Karen Tuttle
Karen Tuttle was an American viola teacher, famous for her "coordination" technique, which emphasizes being comfortable while playing the instrument. She was originally a violinist who chose to become a violist when she wanted to study with William Primrose, whose technique and ease in playing...
. She also studied astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and earned a Master of Music
Master of Music
The Master of Music is the first graduate degree in Music awarded by universities and music conservatories. The M.Mus. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy...
degree from the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Stumm now divides her time between activities in the United States and in Europe, where her recent musical mentors have been violist Nobuko Imai
Nobuko Imai
, is a Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she plays an Andrea Guarneri of 1690.-Biography:...
and cellist Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis CBE is a British cellist. He is distinguished for his diverse repertoire, distinctive sound and total command of phrasing. He studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and was much influenced by the great iconoclast of Russian cello playing, Daniil Shafran...
whom she met at the International Musicians Seminar in Cornwall, England. Unlike many viola players, Stumm never played the violin and is outspoken in support of the instrument's having its own distinct identity.
Career
Stumm is the winner of the three major international competitions — first prize of the 2005 Primrose International Viola CompetitionPrimrose International Viola Competition
The Primrose International Viola Competition , also referred to as the Primrose Memorial Scholarship Competition , is an international music competition for viola players sponsored by the American Viola Society and named for the 20th century virtuoso William Primrose.The 13th Primrose International...
, second prize at the International Competition in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and the Vriendenkrans Concours of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam in 2005. In 2006 she became the first solo violist to win first prize of the Concert Artist Guild International Auditions in New York. Her recent performances include her Carnegie Hall recital debut, Kennedy Center debut in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as well as performances at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
, New York, the Wigmore Hall and St. John's
St. John's, Smith Square
St John's, Smith Square is a church in the middle of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable Trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored, the internal layout altered somewhat, and is now used as a concert hall....
, Smith Square
Smith Square
Smith Square is a square in the Westminster district of London, just south of the Palace of Westminster. The centre of the square is occupied by St John's, Smith Square, a Baroque church now used as a concert hall...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, at the Sitka Festival in Alaska and the National Concert Hall of Panama. She has performed Don Quixote with conductor Yan-Pascal Tortellier at the Bridgewater Hall
Bridgewater Hall
The Bridgewater Hall is an international concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build and currently hosts over 250 performances a year....
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and the Sage, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, and the Bartok Concerto with the Hamburger Sinfonikern in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and the L'Orchestre du Chambre, Geneva. She has appeared in the Rising Stars Series of the Ravinia Festival, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, at the Verbier Festival
Verbier Festival
The Verbier Festival is an international music festival that takes place annually for two weeks in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland.Founded by Swedish expatriate Martin T...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and has been heard on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, and the Dutch and German national radio networks
Deutschlandradio
Deutschlandradio is a national German public broadcasting radio broadcaster. It operates four national networks, Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Dokumente und Debatten and DRadio Wissen....
. For the BBC, she performed in 2008 in Scotland and at the Sage Gateshead's Festival of Russian Music, all for broadcast as well as two live Wigmore Hall performances. She made her BBC Proms debut in 2008, returning in 2009. She appeared on the cover of Symphony Magazine's January 2011 issue.
Stumm's collaborative partners have included members of the Beaux Arts Trio
Beaux Arts Trio
The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio. They made their debut on July 13, 1955 at the Berkshire Music Festival, known today as the Tanglewood Music Center. Their final American concert was held at Tanglewood on August 21, 2008. It was webcast live and archived on NPR Music...
, Guaneri
Guarneri Quartet
The Guarneri Quartet was an American string quartet founded in 1964 at the Marlboro Music School and Festival. During the quartet's early years the members were in residence at Harpur College in upstate New York....
, Juilliard and Alban Berg Quartet
Alban Berg Quartet
The Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970, named after the famous composer Alban Berg.-Members:- Beginnings :...
s, and the period
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
ensemble L'Archibudelli. She was until late 2009 a member of the London-based Aronowitz Ensemble, BBC New Generation Artists and received a Borletti Buitoni Trust award in 2009. She participates regularly at the International Musicians Seminar in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, having performed in that festival's annual tour, and has spent a number of summers at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Other festival appearances include the Delft, Spoleto and Aldeburgh Festivals and the Kronberg Academy's Chamber Music Connects the World."
Her first disc for Naxos of virtuoso Italian works for viola has been released electronically with full release in Spring 2011.
Stumm was recently named International Chair of Viola Studies at the Royal College of Music, London.