One of the most sought-after violists of nowadays, Jennifer Stumm appears regularly on the world’s great stages such as Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Kennedy Center, and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. She is the winner of several competitions, such as the William Primrose, Geneva, and Concert Artist Guild (and the first violist ever to win first prize).
Jennifer is founder and director of Ilumina Festival, the São Paulo-based artist collective and social equity initiative, which has ascended rapidly to prominence as a modern model for 21st century creativity, and to the advancement of diverse talent.
Jennifer has released two celebrated solo albums. Her debut recording for Naxos’ Laureate Series featured works by Italian composer/violist Alessandro Rolla, hailed as "an absolutely phenomenal display of virtuoso viola playing" (The New Recordings). She next released her album of Berlioz's “Harold In Italy” and performed the work in her unique staging and characterization almost fifty times.
A recipient of the prestigious BBC New Generation Artist and Borletti Buitoni Trust awards for her work in chamber music, she appears at major festivals such as Verbier, Marlboro, Stavanger, Spoleto, Aldeburgh, Delft and IMS Prussia Cove, and regularly appears with Spectrum Concerts Berlin, and as a trio with cellist Jens-Peter Maintz and violinist Kolja Blacher.
Born in Atlanta, Jennifer first heard the viola when she was eight and, enchanted by its sound, began playing in her school's orchestra. She studied with Karen Tuttle at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, with Nobuko Imai in Amsterdam as well as with Steven Isserlis at IMS Prussia Cove, and also pursued interests in politics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jennifer plays a Gasparo da Salò viola, 1589, generously on loan from a private trust.
Jennifer Stumm is Professor of Viola at the University of Music and Arts of Vienna, and the International Chair of Viola Studies at the Royal College of Music, in London, and regularly gives masterclasses around the world.