A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mary Ann Mumm began playing the violin in one of the first Suzuki string programs in the country. She later went on to study with Gerald Stanick of the Fine Arts Quartet. At age 15, Ms. Mumm made her debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as the first prize recipient of their Young Artists Competition. She earned both Bachelor and Master of Music Performance degrees from Indiana University as a full scholarship performance student and graduate teaching assistant of Josef Gingold. Other teachers include Ivan Galamian, Tadeusz Wronski and Henri Temianka.
Ms. Mumm was the youngest and also the first woman to be appointed to a full time faculty position in the instrumental music department at Northwestern University, where she taught for four years as an Assistant Professor of Violin/Viola and Chamber Music before moving to the New York area.
Ms. Mumm’s orchestral engagements include the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and most recently, 17 years with the MET Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, she has performed extensively on international radio broadcasts and television as well as recording on the Sony and Deutsche Gramophon labels. Her numerous chamber music collaborations include performances with the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets, Sarah Chang, Ida Kavafian and Peter Wiley as well as principal musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and MET Orchestra.
Ms. Mumm is sought after for her enthusiastic teaching and dedication to string education. A recognized clinician, she adjudicates competitions and teaches violin, chamber music and orchestral performance master classes at music institutions worldwide. Ms. Mumm is presently serving both as a faculty member and in advisory positions with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University. As an arts administrator, she was Chair of the String and Chamber Music Departments for the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival from 2001-04 and is the current Director of Chamber Music Program for the Youth Orchestras of Essex County and Advisory Board Chair for the ASTA/NJ Chamber Music Institute at Kean University. During Ms. Mumm’s tenure as the 2006-08 President of the American String Teachers Association-New Jersey Chapter, the state was recognized for its excellence with an unprecedented five national awards.
Ms. Mumm is an active performing chamber musician and soloist in addition to maintaining a private violin studio at her home in Jersey City. Her students have won positions in major orchestras and music institutions. She is married to violist, Craig Mumm and the proud mother of their two children- Daniel, a cellist and harpist, Andrea.