The pianist André Kuzmitsch and the trombonist Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda
(Copyright photo left: Heloísa Bortz)

Kurt Maas Jazz Scholarship awarded for the first time:
André Kusmitsch and Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda from Brazil.

On the occasion of the 10th year of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award, the University of Music and Theatre Munich (HMTM), supported by entrepreneur and jazz promoter Camilo Dornier, is awarding the Kurt Maas Jazz Scholarship for the first time. The scholarship promotes the worldwide networking of the Munich Jazz Institute by inviting international young talents to Munich. This year, this sponsorship went to the Brazilian musicians André Kusmitsch (piano) and Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda (trombone).

André Kusmitsch and Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda were invited to Munich as guest students from June 17, 2023 to July 17, 2023, and worked with the students of the Jazz Institute in various workshops and performed as part of the winner's concert of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023 on July 12 at the Isarphilharmonie in the Gasteig HP8.

For the first award of the Scholarship this year, the Jazz Institute has selected two institutions in São Paulo that stand for innovative jazz education in Brazil: the Faculdade de Música Souza Lima College and the EMESP Tom Jobim Music School. The Faculdade de Música Souza Lima College in São Paulo, which works closely with the Berklee College of Music, has a high-caliber Jazz and Samba Jazz Education. The EMESP Tom Jobim Music School in São Paulo is a socio-cultural project that intensively promotes musical talent from the most diverse neighborhoods of the city. Internal competitions have taken place at both institutions to award the Scholarship.

Personal experience report by Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda:

São Paulo, 10.08.2023

Through this report, I would like to share a little bit about my experience during my stay in Munich from June 16 to July 17, 2023. The exchange was the result of a cooperation between EMESP Tom Jobim and the University of Music and Theatre Munich.

I would like to emphasize at the beginning that this exchange was of very high importance for both my artistic/professional and personal development. I am convinced that such projects contribute strongly to the individual development of the students involved.

The experience of being in a new country, speaking a different language, meeting new people and building new relationships has made me realize how much I still have to learn about the world. This is excellent because it makes me realize how much I can still grow as a musician, a trombonist, and as a person.

In terms of the college, I was very grateful for the warm welcome from all the staff, faculty, and fellow students. They were supportive and very helpful with everything we needed. The practical ensemble exercises, the big band, and the individual instrument lessons were of high quality and provided us with many interesting opportunities for exchange with the professors and students. And on top of that, we experienced a great openness to share our experiences with Brazilian music with all of them.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize how formative the experience of playing in places like the jazz clubs (Unterfahrt, Milla Club), the Isarphilharmonie (in a memorable concert with Ivan Lins) or at a festival in Regensburg was. These experiences will remain in my memory for the rest of my life and contribute greatly to the holistic development as a musician.

A tight hug,

Feldeman Oliveira

More information about the two scholars: 

https://hmtm.de/kurt-maas-jazz-scholarship-erstmals-vergeben-andre-kusmitsch-und-feldeman-de-oliveira-lacerda-aus-brasilien/