Genres Jazz Labels ArtistShare | Name Maria Schneider | |
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Born November 27, 1960 (age 63)
Windom, Minnesota, U.S. ( 1960-11-27 ) Instruments Composer
Jazz Orchestra Director Associated acts The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra Role Composer · mariaschneider.com Education University of Minnesota, Eastman School of Music Awards Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Albums Concert in the Garden, Winter Morning Walks, Sky Blue, Allegresse, Evanescence | ||
Maria schneider jazz a vienne 2008
Maria Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an American composer and big-band leader who has won multiple Grammy Awards.
Contents
- Maria schneider jazz a vienne 2008
- Biography
- Advocacy for musicians
- Awards and honors
- Discography
- References
Biography
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 studied 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.
Schneider is an avid birdwatcher and enlisted band members to contribute bird calls on "Cerulean Skies" on her recording Sky Blue.
Advocacy for musicians
Schneider has been a strong advocate for musicians' rights and copyright. She has testified before Congress, and has been asked to participate in several roundtables conducted by the US Copyright Office. Schneider has been outspoken against YouTube and the "freemium" streaming models. She has published several open letters and white papers on these topics.
Schneider has been a board member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences for the New York local chapter and has been involved in many of the NARAS advocacy initiatives, including Grammys on the Hill. In April 2014, on behalf of NARAS, Schneider testified on Section 512 of Section 17 before the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. Schneider's advocacy against big data companies and their impact on music and culture is reflected in her music, including a piece entitled "Data Lords" commissioned by the U.S. Library of Congress (2016).