Maria Semushkina
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Maria Semushkina | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Moscow |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University |
| Occupation | Producer |
Maria Semushkina is an international producer, the head of the London-based CultLab production company, ex-director of the ArtMania agency, author and president of the Usadba Jazz festival.
Biography
Maria was born in Moscow to a family of TV journalists. She has been a freelance radio correspondent for the children's and youth editorial boards since 1991. She moved to Budapest with her family in 1992 and spent some time there when her parents opened the VGTRK office. Maria attended Moscow State University's Faculty of Journalism before continuing on to the French College of Journalism.
Early career
Maria co-authored the radio program 'Rock from Radio 1' in the early 2000s. Later, they were joined by the author's programmes 'Music for all Time' on Jazz FM Radio and 'Semushkina's Music Evenings' on Radio Culture. Maria also served in the French Embassy in Russia, where she organised a French film festival, French music performances, and conferences at Moscow State University's Centre for French Journalism. In 2003, she established Russia's first cinematic product placement company. She has collaborated with several directors and producers, including Egor Konchalovsky, Renata Litvinova, Dmitry Meskhiev, and Ilya Khrzhanovsky.
Artmania
In 2004, the ArtMania agency was established. From 2008 until 2016, Maria and her agency staged solo performances including international jazz stars such as Melody Gardot, Avishai Cohen, Richard Bona, Marcus Miller, and Tigran Hamasyan. Maria and her colleagues also organised concerts including Russian stars such as the band Bi-2 and Boris Grebenshchikov.
Under Maria's guidance, the ArtMania agency planned and ran about 100 festivals and events over the course of the agency's 16-year existence (which ended in April 2020 due to the pandemic). During this time, over 500 bands from all over the world performed for the Russian audience.
Maria and her agency also established the Usad'ba Jazz ("Manor Jazz"), an annual international open-air music event that amalgamates jazz, funk, world music, acid jazz, lounge, jazz rock, blues, and several other musical genres. The event occurred from 2004 to 2019 throughout over six locations, attracting more than one million attendees and featuring performances by over 500 performers, including:
Black Eyed Peas, Pink Martini, John Scofield, Jamie Cullum, Jacob Collier, Melody Gardot, John McLaughlin, Richard Bona, Ezra Collective, Hiatus Kaiyote, Maceo Parker
Maria frequently represented Russia in international forums and music conferences as the founder and president of Russia's largest jazz music festival. These days Maria gives lectures on music production and writes music-related publications.
Cultlab
Maria came to the United Kingdom in 2019, where she then established CultLab in 2021. The company develops cultural projects and organizes performances, concerts, intimate chamber music nights, and social events. It also assists creative migrants by giving them the resources they require to continue their art-related careers.
Maria led the creation of the Jazz&Club with Semushkina initiative in London in 2022, which included a series of regular musical chamber lectures and concerts. Later, the lectures were modified into the format of music parties, which are creative evenings when musicians may network.
Musical projects
CultLab's initiatives include the international music festival Music Saves The World, which was established in 2023. The festival's lineup has always included musicians from emigrants, refugees, and so-called 'musical nomads' (the term used by analogy with IT nomads). During the festival's two-year run, concerts were held in Georgia, Armenia, Montenegro, and London. The festival has already attracted over 100 bands and continues to grow (more locations are scheduled for 2025 and 2026).
Another important musical endeavour was a series of chamber music evenings (aka 'kvartirniks', 2024), which included performances by young musicians and a jam session at the end of each event.
Theatre projects
Maria also involves with in theatre productions:
- 'I'm Here' — a monologue play about the tragedy of refugees, starring actor Anatoly Bely. The show took place at the Bloomsbury Theatre.
- 'Mahamaya Electronic Devices' — a drama by Russian-born Polish writer Ivan Vyrypayev, whose works are prohibited in Russia and under criminal inquiry. The exclusive presentation took place in London's Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler's Wells Theatre.
- 'Cremulator' — the UK debut of Maxim Didenko'sdrama 'Cremulator' at the Peacock theatre in London. Written on the basis of interrogation records of the director of the first crematorium in the USSR, "Cremulator" is the first output of Sasha Filipenko's book
References
External links
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