Edgar Meyer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edgar Meyer
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| Background information | |
| Born | November 24, 1960 |
| Origin | Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States |
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| Instruments | Double bass |
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Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American musician and composer. He is famous for playing the double bass, which is the biggest string instrument in the orchestra. Edgar Meyer plays many different kinds of music, like classical music, bluegrass music, and jazz. He has won seven Grammy Awards, which are big awards for music.
Meyer is part of a special group of musicians at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. This group includes other amazing artists like Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, and Bryan Sutton. He has worked with many famous musicians from different music styles. Some of them are Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, and Chris Thile.
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Early Life and Learning Music
Edgar Meyer grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He went to Oak Ridge High School there. He started learning to play the double bass from his father, Edgar Meyer Sr. His father was a music teacher who led the string orchestra program for local schools. Later, Meyer went to Indiana University to study music even more. He learned from a teacher named Stuart Sankey.
Amazing Career and Collaborations
As a composer, Edgar Meyer writes music that has been played and recorded by many famous musicians and orchestras. Some of these include Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His music has also been performed by the Emerson String Quartet.
In 2011, Meyer worked on a special album called The Goat Rodeo Sessions. He made this album with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Chris Thile. This album was very successful and won two Grammy Awards in 2013. Meyer won his fifth Grammy Award in 2015 for his album Bass & Mandolin, which he recorded with Chris Thile.
He also recorded a collection of Bach trios with Chris Thile and Yo-Yo Ma. This music was released in April 2017. In June 2020, the same group of musicians from The Goat Rodeo Sessions released another album. It was called Not Our First Goat Rodeo.
Teaching and Inspiring Others
Besides performing and composing, Edgar Meyer also teaches music. He is an Artist in Residence at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. He also teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music, which is a very famous music school. One of his students at Curtis was Paul Kowert, who is now a bassist and composer for the band Punch Brothers.
Personal Life
Edgar Meyer is married to a violinist named Connie (Cornelia) Heard. They have a son named George Meyer, who also plays the violin.
Discover More Music by Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer has released many albums, both by himself and with other musicians. Here are some of his notable works:
Solo Albums
- Unfolding (1986)
- Dreams of Flight (1987)
- Work in Progress (1990)
- Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites Performed on Double Bass (2000)
- Edgar Meyer (2006)
Albums with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor
- Appalachia Waltz (1996)
- Appalachian Journey (2000) - This album won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album.
Albums with Béla Fleck
- Perpetual Motion (2001) - This album won two Grammys.
- Music for Two (live) (2004)
Albums with Chris Thile
- Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile (2008)
- Bass & Mandolin (2014) - This album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
Other Important Collaborations
- Telluride Sessions (1989) – with a group called "Strength in Numbers"
- Skip, Hop, and Wobble (1993) – with Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg
- Uncommon Ritual (1997) – with Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall
- Short Trip Home (1999) – with Joshua Bell (nominated for a Grammy)
- The Melody of Rhythm – Triple Concerto & Music for Trio (2009) – with Béla Fleck and Zakir Hussain
- The Goat Rodeo Sessions (2011) – with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile (won two Grammys)
- Bach Trios (2017) – with Yo-Yo Ma and Chris Thile
- Not Our First Goat Rodeo (2020) – with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile
