Violist Jennifer Stumm is internationally recognized as a leading advocate for her instrument. Her solo career was launched after victories in three major international competitions in a single year: William Primrose, Geneva and Concert Artists Guild (where she was the first violist ever to win First Prize.) Hailed by the Washington Post for the “opal-like beauty” of her sound, Stumm’s recent appearances of note include her Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and Ravinia Festival recital debuts, her first tour of South America and returns to the Aldeburgh and Delft Festivals and the Wigmore Hall. Season highlights include recitals in San Francisco, Oslo, and at Merkin Hall in New York, a series of concerts with Steven Isserlis and friends at the Cheltenham festival and a residency with the National Youth Orchestra of Brazil.
Jennifer performs in collaborations and chamber music festivals around the world and is a regular participant the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove and Marlboro Music. She was a founding member of the Aronowitz Ensemble, BBC New Generation Artists and Borletti Buitoni Trust Award winners. Her collaborative partners have included members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri, Vermeer and Alban Berg Quartets and the period ensemble L’Archibudelli.
Featured on the cover of the January 2011 Symphony magazine as an “Artist on the Verge,” Jennifer’s 2011 TEDx talk at Aldeburgh Music, “The Imperfect Instrument,” was named an editor’s pick of all talks on ted.com. Her debut recording for Naxos’ Laureate Series was released last year to critical acclaim, an album of works by Italian composer/violist Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841).
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Jennifer Stumm began viola studies at the age of eight in her school’s orchestra program and remains a passionate proponent of early music education. Ms. Stumm earned degrees from the Curtis Institute as a student of Karen Tuttle and from the Juilliard School and also pursued interests in astronomy and politics at the University of Pennsylvania. She later studied with Nobuko Imai and the cellist Steven Isserlis. Jennifer Stumm is currently International Chair of Viola Studies at the Royal College of Music, London.