Maria Schneider (musician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Schneider
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Schneider at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, 2008
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| 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 |
Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is a famous American composer and leader of a jazz orchestra. She is known for her unique music and has won many prestigious Grammy Awards for her work.
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A Musical Beginning
Maria Schneider was born in Windom, Minnesota. She loved music from a young age and went on to study it in college. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1983 and earned a master's degree from the famous Eastman School of Music in 1985.
After finishing her studies, she got an amazing opportunity to work with the legendary jazz musician Gil Evans. She worked as his assistant and copyist, which means she helped prepare his written music. She even helped him with the music for a tour with the rock star Sting and for the movie The Color of Money. In 1985, she also studied with the well-known composer Bob Brookmeyer.
Leading Her Own Orchestra
In 1992, Schneider decided to start her own band, the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. The group began performing every week at a club called Visiones in New York City. They played there for five years until the club closed. Today, the band is known as the Maria Schneider Orchestra.
The orchestra became very popular and has traveled the world, playing in concert halls and at jazz festivals across Europe, South America, and Asia. Schneider herself has performed with more than 80 different groups in over 30 countries. Because of her amazing contributions to music, she received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota in 2013.
Award-Winning Music
Schneider's orchestra has received many awards. In 2004, her album Concert in the Garden won a Grammy Award. This was a special achievement because it was the first Grammy-winning album funded through ArtistShare. ArtistShare is a website where fans can directly support artists to help them create new music.
Her orchestra has won more Grammys for albums like The Thompson Fields and Data Lords. Schneider has also won Grammys for writing specific songs.
Besides her jazz music, Schneider also writes classical music. Her 2013 album Winter Morning Walks featured the famous singer Dawn Upshaw and poetry by Ted Kooser. This album won a Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
Fighting for Musicians' Rights
Maria Schneider is a strong supporter of musicians' rights. She believes that artists should be paid fairly when their music is played or shared. She has spoken to the United States Congress about the importance of copyright, which protects the work of creators.
She has often spoken out against websites like YouTube that allow people to listen to music for free. She argues that these "freemium" services make it hard for musicians to earn a living from their art. Some of her music, like the album Data Lords, explores her ideas about technology and its effect on artists and privacy.
Lawsuit Against YouTube
In 2020, Schneider was part of a major lawsuit against YouTube. She argued that the platform did not give smaller artists the right tools to protect their music from being used without permission. The lawsuit claimed that YouTube's system, called Content ID, was not available to everyone, making it difficult for independent artists to control their own work. The case was dismissed in 2023 before it went to trial.
A Love for Nature
When she is not making music, Schneider is an avid birdwatcher. Her love for birds often inspires her songs. For her song "Cerulean Skies," she even had her band members record bird calls to include in the music.
Other songs inspired by birds include:
- "Waxwing"
- "Bird Count"
- "Arbiters of Evolution"
Awards and Honors
Maria Schneider has won many awards throughout her career. Here are some of them:
- Best Composer, Best Arranger, and Best Big Band from DownBeat magazine for many years.
- Jazz Album of the Year and Composer of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association in 2005.
- Multiple Grammy Awards for her albums and compositions, including for Concert in the Garden, The Thompson Fields, and Data Lords.
- A 2019 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, one of the highest honors for a jazz musician in the United States.
- Her album Concert in the Garden was added to the National Recording Registry in 2019, meaning it is considered a recording of great cultural importance.
- She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2021 for Data Lords.
Discography
- Evanescence (1994)
- Coming About (1996)
- Days of Wine and Roses - Live at the Jazz Standard (2000)
- Allégresse (2000)
- Concert in the Garden (2004)
- Sky Blue (2007)
- Winter Morning Walks (2013)
- The Thompson Fields (2015)
- Data Lords (2020)
- Decades (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Maria Schneider (música) para niños
