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 on November 24, 1960, is an amazing American musician. He plays the double bass, which is a very large string instrument. Edgar Meyer is also a talented composer, meaning he writes music. His music mixes different styles like classical music, bluegrass, and jazz. He has won seven Grammy Awards, which are big awards in music!
Edgar Meyer is part of a special group of musicians at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. This group includes other famous artists like Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, and Yo-Yo Ma. He has worked with many different musicians, showing how versatile he is.
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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. His father, Edgar Meyer Sr., taught him how to play the double bass. His dad was a music teacher for the local schools.
Later, Edgar Meyer went to the Indiana University School of Music. He studied with a teacher named Stuart Sankey. He finished his studies in 1984.
Music career and achievements
As a composer, Edgar Meyer's music has been played and recorded by many famous musicians. These include Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, and Yo-Yo Ma. Even big orchestras like the Boston Symphony Orchestra have performed his pieces.
In 2011, Meyer worked on an album called The Goat Rodeo Sessions. He made this album with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Chris Thile. This album was a big hit and won two Grammy Awards in 2013.
Meyer won another Grammy Award in 2015 for his album Bass & Mandolin. He recorded this album with Chris Thile. In 2017, he recorded some classical music by Bach with Chris Thile and Yo-Yo Ma. Then, in 2020, the same group from The Goat Rodeo Sessions released a second album called Not Our First Goat Rodeo.
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. One of his students at Curtis was Paul Kowert, who is now a bassist for the band Punch Brothers.
Family life
Edgar Meyer is married to a violinist named Connie (Cornelia) Heard. They have a son named George Meyer, who also plays the violin. Music truly runs in their family!
Music albums
Here are some of the albums Edgar Meyer has released:
Solo albums
- Unfolding (1986)
- Dreams of Flight (1987)
- Love of a Lifetime (1988)
- Work in Progress (1990)
- Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites Performed on Double Bass (2000)
- Meyer and Bottesini Concertos (2002)
- 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 Christian McBride
- But Who's Gonna Play the Melody? (2024)
Albums with Béla Fleck
- Double Time (1984, on the song "Lowdown")
- Perpetual Motion (2001)
- This album won two Grammy Awards.
- "Bonnaroo Traveler" (Live at Bonnaroo 2002)
- 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 collaborations
- Telluride Sessions (1989) – as "Strength in Numbers"
- Skip, Hop, and Wobble (1993) – with Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg
- Bourbon and Rosewater (1996) – with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Jerry Douglas
- Schubert: Quintet, Op. 114 "The Trout" (1996) – with Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Rebeca Young, and Yo-Yo Ma
- Uncommon Ritual (1997) – with Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall
- Quintet (1998) – with the Emerson String Quartet
- Short Trip Home (1999) – with Joshua Bell
- This album was nominated for a Grammy.
- Dawg Duos (1999) – with David Grisman
- Violin Concerto (2000) – with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Hilary Hahn
- 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
- This album won two Grammy Awards.
- 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
