Hardship was a familiar song for Gert Kumi. The rasping, discordant tune spilled daily from the lips of his people. From 1944 to 1991 Albanians bowed under the weight of oppression. Communism muted the peaceful, spirited refrains of liberty and justice. But Gert shared something else with his people: the will to overcome.
—New Identity Magazine
About
Gert Kumi is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where he was a scholarship student of Stephen Clapp, protege of Ivan Galamian and Dorothy Delay. Other teachers and mentors at Juilliard include Itzhak Perlman, Carl Earlyss, and Lionel Party.
Kumi has performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician across four continents including North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. He made his Lincoln Center debut in February of 2006 performing as a soloist in the Concerto for Solo Violin, Piano and String Quartet by French composer Ernest Chausson.
As a soloist, he has been featured with many different orchestras including the Anderson Symphony, Staten Island Philharmonic, Symphony of the Lakes, Bacchanalia Chamber Orchestra, Tirana Philharmonic in Albania, Wenzhou Philharmonic in China and Masterworks Festival Orchestra.
Kumi has played under the baton of some of the world’s most distinguished conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Jahja Ling, Otto Werner Mueller, Larry Rachleff, Andrew Litton and others.
He has traveled and performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, Vatican City, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China, and the Central Conservatory of Beijing.
Kumi has collaborated with many world-renowned artists including singer Elton John, composer John Williams, violinist Itzhak Perlman, gospel superstar Sandy Patty, and more.
He has been featured on NBC, BRAVO, ZDF, RAI, ORT Vatican Radio and Swedish Radio.
As an educator, Professor Kumi has taught at Nyack College, Grace College and Seminary, and Anderson University.
Kumi is a frequent guest artist and clinician at different summer festivals in the US and around the world, including the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy.
