“Inclusion should be radically audible.”
From a coffee farm in Brazil to the mountaintop of classical music,
Ilumina makes its Lucerne Festival debut.
The São Paulo-based equity project of musicians from diverse and marginalized backgrounds started on a coffee farm and makes its Lucerne Festival debut August 11 with director Jennifer Stumm and guest artist British tenor Mark Padmore.
On August 11, 2022, Ilumina makes its debut at the vaunted Lucerne Festival as the only invited Latin American ensemble. All of the 26 young artists performing came through the Ilumina educational advancement project, were accepted to study at leading international conservatories and are now embarking on international careers as young professionals. Under the Lucerne Festival theme of “diversity,” Ilumina director Jennifer Stumm was invited to create a new production. “The Nature of Light,” showcases hallmarks of Ilumina creative identity: choreography, lighting design and Brazilian percussion, with much of the concert performed by memory. Using light as a metaphor,Stumm explores how contrasts impact how we see and hear through a series of interconnected works that range from the Afro Sambas of Baden Powell, the late quartets of Beethoven to 17th century France and improvisations on modern funk rhythms heard in every urban community in Brazil. The evening closes with Benjamin Britten’s “Les Illuminations” with Mark Padmore as guest soloist. The program also includes the premiere of three new arrangements by Ilumina cellist and composer Bruno Lima, from the north of Brazil and now studying in Helsinki.
About the project, Stumm says “we at Ilumina believe that diversity is the fuel that powers progress, in society and in creativity. Inclusion should be radically audible, and we should expect shared social values to translate to creative identity. The first thing I want the audience to think is ‘ this is something wonderful and new.’ Then they can be amazed by how the stories and voices of our artists are making that creativity possible.”
ABOUT ILUMINA
“The first sensation is dazzling: the limits between stage and audience are eliminated and
everyone is immersed in a musical journey.” O Estado do São Paulo
A diverse community of artists with a transformative social mission, Ilumina has quickly risen to prominence as a modern model for 21st century creativity and the democratization of opportunity access. Founded in 2015 as an annual festival at the Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza, one of Brazil’s leading sustainable coffee producers, the project rapidly grew into a year-round equity project. Since then, more than 100 young artists from Ilumina projects have been accepted into the world’s leading conservatories, with an acceptance rate of 96% with many more are now embarking on international careers. Ilumina’s “Equal Music” digital project has brought together over 1000 musicians around the world to offer lessons and mentorship online to young musicians who lack those opportunities. Ilumina believes that immersive experience and close access to leaders in the field should not be limited by privilege. Artists in the Ilumina community include renowned musicians like Christian Poltera, Paul Lewis, Mark Padmore, Liza Ferschtman, Tai Murray, Anthony Marwood, Julian Steckel, the Danish Quartet, and many others, who dedicate their time and experience to expanding future opportunities for young musicians.
ARTISTS
Jennifer Stumm, founder/director
Ilumina founder Jennifer Stumm blazes a courageous creative path with diverse projects blending pure musical enthusiasm with committed advocacy for social equity. Known for the “opal-like beauty” (Washington Post) of her sound, Jennifer was the first solo violist to win the Concert Artists Guild competition, and went on to perform on the world’s major stages such as Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Kennedy Center and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Jennifer is also in demand as a speaker about the potential of the arts to help solve global problems. Her talk “The Imperfect Instrument” was ranked an editor’s pick of all TED talks and she recently spoke at NASA, the Ecosystems 2030 forum and made an hour-long radio program for the BBC. Inspired by the story of her own family, she founded Ilumina as a response to inequities she saw in the world of classical music (and the world in general.) Born in Atlanta, Jennifer divides her time between Vienna where she is professor at the University of Music and Arts, São Paulo, and on tour.
Mark Padmore, tenor
Mark Padmore was born in London and studied at King’s College, Cambridge. He established an international career in opera, concert and recital. In concert, Mark performs with the world’s leading orchestras. He was Artist in Residence for the 2017/18 season with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and held a similar position with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2016/17. Mark was named Musical America’s 2016 Vocalist of the Year and received an Honorary Doctorate from Kent University in 2014. He was named CBE in the 2019 Queens Anniversary Honors List.
DETAILS
Lucerne Festival 2022
Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022
Location: KKL Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland
Inquiries: Miwa Kozuma: +51 (11) 98401-4868 [email protected]
More information:
https://www.lucernefestival.ch/en/program/ilumina-jennifer-stumm-mark-padmore/1790
www.iluminamusic.com
Program:
Franz Schubert – Der Doppelgänger for solo viola
Heitor Villa Lobos – Bachianas Brasileiras N. 4, Preludio
Improvisation in the style of Berimbau
Jean-Baptiste Lully – Marche pour le Ceremonie des Turcs
György Kurtag – Schatten for Solo Bass
Johann Sebastian Bach – Aria from the Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Nico Muhly – Drones & Violin Part 1: Material in E Flat
Improvisation in the style of Funk Brasileiro
Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet No. 14 in C Sharp minor opus 131: Allegro
_______________
Baden Powell – Canto de Yemanjá
Richard Wagner – Prelude to Tristan and Isolde
Benjamin Britten – Les Illuminations, op 18 with Mark Padmore, tenor
Baden Powell – Canto de Ossanha
VIOLIN
Nathan Amaral – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (HFMDK – Frankfurt)
Felipe Bueno – Bauru, Brazil (MUK Vienna, Austria)
Maressa Portilho – Barra Mansa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (HfM Mannheim, Germany)
Robinho Carmo – São Paulo, Brazil (Haute École de Musique Geneva, Switzerland)
Marina Caputo – Belo Horizonte, Brazil (MUK Vienna, Austria)
Gustavo Lennertz – São Paulo, Brazil (MUK Vienna, Austria)
Sarah Nojosa – São Paulo, Brazil (Royal Conservatory The Hague – The Netherlands)
Uiler Souza – Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel – Belgium)
Guilherme Perez – São Paulo, Brazil (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg – Salzburgo)
Monique Cabral – Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (HMDK Stuttgart, Germany)
Maria Julia Segura – São Paulo, Brazil (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria)
Nathalia Oliveira – São Paulo, Brazil (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg – Austria)
Iury Santos – São Paulo, Brazil (High school student)
VIOLA
Guilherme Caldas – São José do Rio Preto, Brazil (MUK Vienna, Austria)
Abner Brasil – Maringá, Brazil (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg/MUK Vienna, Austria)
Nicolas Bernal Montaña – Medellín, Colombia (CNSM de Paris, France)
Israel Rei Almeida — Salvador, Brazil (NEOJIBA orchestra)
Luis Fellipe Borges – Américo Brasiliense, Brazil (MUK Vienna, Austria)
CELLO/BASS
Bruno Lima – Maceió, Brazil (Sibelius Academy Helsinki, Finland)
Santo Scala – Trujillo, Venezuela (Kunst Universität Graz, Austria)
Leonela Velazquez – Camatagua, Venezuela (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria)
Orlando Lopez – Yaracuy, Venezuela (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria)
Guilherme Moraes – São Paulo, Brazil (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria)
Bruno William – São Paulo, Brazil (Kunst Universität Graz, Austria)
Jose David Ospina Gaviria — Medellin, Colombia (HfM Robert Schumann Düsseldorf