Maria Schneider (musician)
| Maria Schneider | |
|---|---|
Maria Schneider at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, 2008
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Maria Lynn Schneider |
| Born |
November 27, 1960 Windom, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, big band, avant-garde, contemporary classical |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, bandleader, musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Labels | Enja, ArtistShare |
| Associated acts | Dawn Upshaw |
| Website | www |
Maria Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an American composer and big-band leader who has won multiple Grammy Awards.
Schneider was born in Windom, Minnesota. She studied music theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1983, then earned a master's degree in Music in 1985 from the Eastman School of Music, studying for one year as well at the University of Miami. Upon leaving Eastman, Gil Evans hired her as his copyist and assistant. Schneider collaborated with Gil Evans for the next few years, working with him on music for a tour with Sting and assisting him as he scored the film The Color of Money. She went on to study with Bob Brookmeyer from 1986 to 1991.
In 1992, Schneider formed The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, which appeared weekly at Visiones in Greenwich Village from 1993 until it closed in 1998. Her orchestra has also performed at many jazz festivals and concert halls, playing Europe, South America and Asia. Schneider has performed with over 80 groups in over 30 countries, and taught at universities worldwide. In 2013, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Schneider's Concert in the Garden (2004) was the first award-winning album produced by ArtistShare, a fan funded platform that has produced (as of 2014) eighteen Grammy nominations and nine Grammy Awards.
Winter Morning Walks (2013) featured soprano Dawn Upshaw, the Saint Paul and Australian Chamber Orchestras, bassist Jay Anderson, pianist Frank Kimbrough, and multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson. The album was written to poetry by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and was funded by ArtistShare. It won Schneider a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Upshaw won a Grammy for her vocal performance, while the Best Engineered Album, Classical award went to David Frost, Tim Martyn, and Brian Losch.
...
Wikipedia