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Maria Schneider
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization.” She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, Evanescence. There, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for what would become her 18-member collective, made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the uniquely creative voices of the group. The Maria Schneider Orchestra has performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide. She herself has received numerous commissions and guest-conducting invites, working with over 85 groups from over 30 countries. Schneider’s music blurs the lines between genres, making her long list of commissioners quite varied, stretching from Jazz at Lincoln Center, to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, to collaborating with David Bowie. She is among a small few to have received GRAMMYS in multiple genres, have received the award in both jazz and classical categories, as well as for her work with David Bowie. Schneider and her orchestra have a distinguished recording career with twelve GRAMMY nominations and five GRAMMY awards. Unique funding of projects has become a hallmark for Schneider through the trend-setting company, ArtistShare. Her album, Concert in the Garden (2004) became historic as the first recording to win a GRAMMY with Internet-only sales, even more significantly, it blazed the "crowd-funding" trail as ArtistShare’s first release. She’s been awarded many honors by the Jazz Journalists Association and DOWNBEAT and JAZZTIMES Critics and Readers Polls. In 2012, her alma mater, the University of Minnesota, presented Schneider with an honorary doctorate, and in 2014, ASCAP awarded her their esteemed Concert Music Award. Schneider has become a strong voice for music advocacy and in 2014, testified before the US Congressional Subcommittee on Intellectual Property about digital rights. She has also appeared in CNN, and has been quoted in numerous publications for her views on Spotify, Pandora, digital rights and music piracy. Most recently, she and concerned colleagues in New York have launched a widespread campaign on behalf of music-makers, MusicAnswers.org. Her recent collaboration with her orchestra and David Bowie resulted in his single called, "Sue (Or In A Season of Crime),” and brought her a 2016 GRAMMY (Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals). Schneider and her orchestra also received a 2016 GRAMMY for their latest work, The Thompson Fields (Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album).
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Maria Schneider and the Clasijazz Big Band at the Barcelona Jazz Festival
by Artur Moral
Maria Schneider & Clasijazz Big Band Paral·lel 6256th Festival de Jazz de Barcelonajny:Barcelona, Spain November 6, 2024 Maria Schneider performed at the Barcelona Jazz Festival for the seventh time in its history, accompanied this time by the Clasijazz Big Band, a brave and successful musical project born in a place far from the nerve centers of jazz: the city of Almería, in southern Spain. Schneider, who as usual was talkative, expressed her ...
Continue ReadingLife Comes In: Maria Schneider Celebrates 30 Years
by Leo Sidran
As she celebrates 30 years of running a band, composing and recording work and touring, Maria Schneider is considering her trajectory, and going through something that may or not be a crisis. She says, “I'm looking at my life and just saying 'ok, what's next?'" In 1994, Schneider released her first album Evanescence and began to establish herself as one of the most compelling, sensitive and creative big band composers of her generation. She has joined ...
Continue ReadingScrolling Down the Leaderboard
by Monk Rowe
A band leader sampler. Veteran sidemen Eddie Bert, Peter Erskine, Don Menza, and Marshall Allen provide inside stories about Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Sun Ra, and Joe Zawinul. Maria Schneider weighs in on the role and responsibility of a leader. ...
Continue ReadingJotting Down Notes / The Arrangers: Part 2
by Monk Rowe
Current arrangers including Oliver Nelson Jr., Steve Turre, Maria Schneider, Dave Rivello, and Lisa Parrott share their philosophies about music software, deadlines, and enabling other musicians to sound good. ...
Continue ReadingMaria Schneider Orchestra at Hill Auditorium
by C. Andrew Hovan
Maria Schneider Orchestra Hill Auditorium 55th Performance of the 144th UMS Annual Season Ann Arbor, Michigan March 11, 2023 An independent thinker with a distinctive voice as a composer, Maria Schneider has been at the forefront of creative big band music for decades even as her recognition among casual jazz listeners might be underdeveloped. The 62-year-old Minnesota native seems to be heir apparent to the type of large ensemble writing that involves tailoring compositions ...
Continue ReadingMaria Schneider Orchestra at Herbst Theater
by Harry S. Pariser
Maria Schneider Orchestra Herbst Theater SFJAZZ Spring Season San Francisco, CA March 2, 2023 These days only a few touring jazz orchestras exist, and those that do stand apart. Maria Schneider's 18-member ensemble, the Maria Schneider Orchestra Orchestra is one of these. The 59-year-old composer has an impressive résumé. She was raised in Windom, Minnesota, a tiny town with a river running through it. It was named after Senator Windom (1827-1891), who also ...
Continue ReadingDan McClenaghan's Best Releases Of 2020
by Dan McClenaghan
In a year that will be remembered for the coming of the COVID-19 pandemic, the music survived, thrived even, not on the bandstand playing for live audiences, but in the studio, socially distanced, in many cases collaborating from afar with swapped sound files. Musicians with time on their hands were especially inspired. These are the 2020 recordings that grabbed me the most, presented in the order in which they came through the door. Maria Schneider Orchestra Data ...
Continue ReadingJazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Maria Schneider's birthday today!
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization.” She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, Evanescence. There, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for what would become her 18-member collective, made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the uniquely creative ...
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The Spring Season Brings Guest Artists and Premieres for Eastman Jazz
Source:
Michael Ricci
Two of Eastman’s top jazz ensembles will kick off the Spring season with incredible performances, Eastman Jazz Lab Band and Eastman Jazz Workshop Ensemble perform March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. As the season continues there will be guest appearances by John Clayton, Carmen Bradford, Maria Schneider and more as well as world premieres of various works. Jazz fans can enjoy music year-round at Eastman, from the award-winning Eastman Jazz Ensemble to ensembles ranging from intimate chamber groups ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Maria Schneider's birthday today!
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization.” She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, Evanescence. There, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for what would become her 18-member collective, made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the uniquely creative ...
read more
New Jersey Performing Arts Center Adds More Jazz Shows To 2021 Line-up Including Maria Schneider Orchestra, Buster Williams, Lillias White, And More
Source:
AMT Public Relations
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) is welcoming live, in-person jazz back to its stage throughout 2021 beginning with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Gregory Porter (September 24). The TD Jazz Series continues in the Fall with “Salsa Meets Jazz” (September 25), saxophonist Boney James (October 14), and vocal powerhouse duo Tierney Sutton and Ann Hampton Calloway (October 15). Celebrating its 10th anniversary is the annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival showcasing an all-star lineup of the country’s best musicians, held ...
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New England Conservatory Alumni Win Grow Your Art Grants During Maria Schneider Residency
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
New England Conservatory’s Entrepreneurial Musicianship team is proud to announce the winners of this year's Grow Your Art grants. Totaling $13,500 the grants have been awarded to NEC alumni Emily Eng, Darynn Dean, Rafael Natan, and Linda Numagami. They will support a microgrant program for Black, Latinx, and Native American music students; a series of concerts and film screenings around women in jazz; an accessible School of Arts and Social Justice; and a clarinet festival. Grow Your Art grants are ...
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Maria Schneider Works With New England Conservatory Students In Grow Your Art
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
New England Conservatory’s Jazz & Entrepreneurial Musicianship programs present Grow Your Art, a week-long music and business residency with groundbreaking multi- Grammy Award winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. The residency will include a pitch night, as well as masterclasses, workshops and panel discussions on the music business and entrepreneurship, culminating in a concert with the NEC Jazz Orchestra. Grow Your Art takes place Tuesday, March 2 through Thursday, March 4, with the pre-taped concert video broadcast on Wednesday, March ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Maria Schneider's birthday today!
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization.” She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, Evanescence. There, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for what would become her 18-member collective, made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the uniquely creative ...
read more
Exploring conflicts between our digital and natural worlds – through music
Source:
Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
Composer, bandleader and NEA Jazz Master Maria Schneider’s creativity knows no bounds. Her stellar music, voiced by her longstanding Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, has drawn on many influences and inspirations throughout her career. Some of her earliest intricate and colorful works were prompted by memories of imaginary monsters conjured up in her Minnesota childhood. A formidable string of recordings by her 18-piece big band start with 1994’s Evanescence (Enja), in part a tribute to her mentor, the late Gil Evans. ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Maria Schneider's birthday today!
Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization.” She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, Evanescence. There, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for what would become her 18-member collective, made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today... Read more.
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Celebrate the 2019 NEA Jazz Masters with the National Endowment for the Arts Free Tickets to the April 15 Tribute Concert Available Now!
Source:
All About Jazz
The National Endowment for the Arts will honor the 2019 NEA Jazz Masters—recipients of the nation’s highest honor in jazz—at a series of free events this April, held in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. These events—a concert with performances by stars of the jazz and music world, a listening party with in-depth conversations about the honorees’ lives and music, and a student master class with one of the 2019 Jazz Masters—will ...
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Maria Schneider
Location: New York City
Instrument: Composer / conductor
Born: November 27
Management: Epstein & Company
