Although you might recognise Stumm as the German word for Silent… we can assure you that Jennifer is anything but! After winning three major international competitions: William Primrose, Geneva and Concert Artists Guild, where she was the first violist ever to win First Prize, Jennifer swiftly earned a reputation as one of the world's most outspoken voices for the expressive possibilities of her instrument.
And let us tell you, the viola needs a voice. Oft overlooked, or indeed sometimes openly laughed at, this “middle child” of the string family finally gets a chance to shine. Jennifer mines her experience as a violist to articulate, both musically and verbally, how imperfection can be the very thing that gives us our voice.
Jennifer is not only an accomplished musician and academic, she is director of Ilumina Festival, a São Paulo-based festival and social initiative. The Ilumina Festival began in 2015 as a musical and social experiment on a farm in the mountains of the São Paulo countryside, when Jennifer Stumm brought together a small group of musicians to play three concerts. Since then, a staggering percentage of the young participating musicians have gone on to study at leading institutions around the world. An audience of thousands, for whom festival concerts are often their only access to live music, returns year after year.
Jennifer Stumm’s 2011 TED Talk, about the viola and the blessings of being different, was named editor’s pick of all TED talks. This led to a solo debut at the Berlin Philharmonie. Through a mixture of talk and performance, Jennifer offers a compelling meditation on the viola's capacity for emotion-- and for making beautiful music. Watch below...