Pascal Schumacher
Encyclopedia
Pascal Schumacher is a Luxembourg
jazz musician, composer and percussionist who has founded a number of groups including the Pascal Schumacher Quartet. He also plays and composes classical chamber music.
on 12 March 1979, Schmacher studied percussion and classical music at the Luxembourg Conservatory
. He continued his studies at the Strasbourg Conservatory
(keyboard) and at the jazz department of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels
. He obtained masters degrees at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
with Frits Landesbergen
and at the Marc Bloch University
in Strasbourg. Among those who assisted him in his studies were Gary Burton
, David Friedman
, Stefon Harris
and Charles Loos
.
With his quartet, Schumacher has performed at a number of jazz festivals including the North Sea Jazz Festival
(Rotterdam), London Jazz Festival
, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
and JVC Jazz Festival (Paris). They have also performed at clubs and festivals in Melbourne
, Sydney
, Montreal
, Cape Town
, Saigon and Mexico City
.
In 2004, Jef Neve and Pascal Schumacher set up a duo (vibraphone and piano) playing a new kind of chamber music combining the sounds of Claude Debussy
, Steve Reich
and Igor Stravinsky
. The duo has been warmly welcomed by the Philharmonie Luxembourg
for the "Rising Stars" concert series in some of the largest concert halls in Europe in association with the European Concert Halls Organisation.
Pascal Schumacher also teaches at the Luxembourg Conservatory as well as at Hochschule für Musik Saar.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
jazz musician, composer and percussionist who has founded a number of groups including the Pascal Schumacher Quartet. He also plays and composes classical chamber music.
Education
Born in Luxembourg CityLuxembourg (city)
The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
on 12 March 1979, Schmacher studied percussion and classical music at the Luxembourg Conservatory
Conservatoire de Luxembourg
The Conservatoire de Luxembourg is a conservatoire in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The conservatoire was founded in 1906, after a private donation made possible its establishment, which had been mandated under a Grand Ducal decree issued in 1904...
. He continued his studies at the Strasbourg Conservatory
Conservatoire de Strasbourg
The Conservatoire de Strasbourg is a music conservatory located in Strasbourg, France. The school was created using funds given to the city of Strasbourg by arts patron Louis Apffel in 1839. The conservatoire's first day of classes began on 3 January 1855....
(keyboard) and at the jazz department of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels
Royal Conservatory of Brussels
The Royal Conservatory of Brussels is a drama and music college in Brussels, Belgium. An academy for acting and the arts, it has been attended by many of the top actors and actresses in Belgium such as Josse De Pauw, Luk van Mello and Luk De Konink....
. He obtained masters degrees at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands.-The Conservatory:...
with Frits Landesbergen
Frits Landesbergen
Frits Landesbergen is a Dutch jazz drummer and vibraphonist.Landesbergen has released six albums under his own name. All are out of print. Alone Together and Melange are his best sold albums....
and at the Marc Bloch University
Marc Bloch University
The Université Marc Bloch, also known as Strasbourg II or UMB was a university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. As of 2006, it had around 13,000 students. Its name used to be Université des Sciences Humaines , but it was renamed in 1998 in honour of the French historian Marc Bloch...
in Strasbourg. Among those who assisted him in his studies were Gary Burton
Gary Burton
Gary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
, David Friedman
David Friedman
David Friedman may refer to:* Dafydd ab Hugh, born David Friedman, science fiction/fantasy writer; political weblogger* David Friedman , American film and TV actor and child star of the 1980s* David Friedman , Broadway and film composer...
, Stefon Harris
Stefon Harris
Stefon Harris is an American jazz vibraphonist. In 1999, the Los Angeles Times called him "one of the most important young artists in jazz" who is "at the forefront of new New York music" and "much in demand as a star sideman"...
and Charles Loos
Charles Loos
Charles Loos is a Belgian jazz pianist and composer. In 1972 he began studying composition and jazz orchestra at Berklee College of Music in Boston, while he already followed a classical formation in Belgium. Back in his country, he co-founded Les Lundis d'Hortense, a Belgian association for...
.
Career
Schumacher cofounded the "Interchange" ensemble with saxophonist Nadine Kauffmann (1995) and, in 2001, the experimental percussion group "Stroke X". From 1997, he became increasingly involved in improvised music, especially jazz, playing with a number of different bands and performing with a variety of artists. In 2002, he set up his own Pascal Schumacher Quartet with Jef Neve (piano), Christophe Devisscher (bass) and Teun Verbruggen (drums). Their first album, Change Of The Moon was released in March 2004, providing the band with opportunities to travel across Europe as well as to Australia and South Africa. Their second album, Personal Legend was released in 2005 and their third, Silbergrau in 2007. In a preview of the quartet's contribution to the London Jazz Festival in November 2010, Thomas Gray characterized Schumacher (vibes) and Frank von Chossy (piano) as "resourceful improvisers, with an abundance of lucid ideas effortlessly articulated over the many shifts of metre. Meanwhile," he comments, "Christophe Devisscher (on bass) and Jens Düppe (on drums) play with a mix of muscle, precision and exquisite dynamic sensitivity."With his quartet, Schumacher has performed at a number of jazz festivals including the North Sea Jazz Festival
North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
(Rotterdam), London Jazz Festival
London Jazz Festival
The London Jazz Festival is a London-wide music festival held every November. It takes place in a variety of London venues, including larger concert halls—such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall—and smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and Vortex...
, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz is an annual festival of jazz and blues held in the town of Wangaratta, 2.5 hours from Melbourne in North East Victoria, Australia. It has become the premier jazz event in Australia and is renowned internationally....
and JVC Jazz Festival (Paris). They have also performed at clubs and festivals in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Saigon and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
In 2004, Jef Neve and Pascal Schumacher set up a duo (vibraphone and piano) playing a new kind of chamber music combining the sounds of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
. The duo has been warmly welcomed by the Philharmonie Luxembourg
Philharmonie Luxembourg
The Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte Concert Hall is a concert hall located on the Kirchberg plateau in the City of Luxembourg. Opened in 2005, it now plays host to 400 performances each year and is one of the main concert halls in Europe.-Origins:...
for the "Rising Stars" concert series in some of the largest concert halls in Europe in association with the European Concert Halls Organisation.
Pascal Schumacher also teaches at the Luxembourg Conservatory as well as at Hochschule für Musik Saar.
Awards
- IKB Jugend-Förderpreis (1998)
- Prix Norbert Stelmes des Jeunesses Musicales Luxembourg (1999)
- Together with the Pascal Schumacher Quartet, First Prize and Public Prize, Tremplin Jazz Avignon (2004)
- Django d'OrGolden DjangoThe Golden Django, named after guitarist Django Reinhardt, is an award for jazz musicians in Europe. The trophy is a creation of the French painter Raymond Moretti. It was first introduced in France , then in Belgium , in Sweden and Italy and finally in Denmark .-Belgian palmares:Since 1995,...
for New Talent, Belgian Jazz Trophy (2005)
Discography
- "Change Of The Moon", Igloo RecordsIgloo RecordsThe Igloo label was initially created in Belgium to cater for improvised and electro-acoustic music, but gradually specialised in modern jazz. It has released material by most of Belgium's jazz talent, including Philip Catherine, Nathalie Loriers, Diederik Wissels, Musicazur and Charles Loos as...
, Brussels (2004) - "Personal Legend", Igloo Records, Brussels (2006)
- "Silbergrau", Igloo Records, Brussels (2007)
- "Here we Gong", Enja RecordsEnja RecordsEnja Records is a German jazz record label based in Munich, Germany. It was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971....
, Munich (2009) - "Face to Face", Enja RecordsEnja RecordsEnja Records is a German jazz record label based in Munich, Germany. It was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971....
, Munich (2010)