Maria Schneider

Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, imaginative, revelatory, riveting, daring, and beyond categorization.” Blurring the lines between genres, her varied commissioners stretch from Jazz at Lincoln Center, to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, to the American Dance Festival, and include collaboration with David Bowie. She is among a small few to receive GRAMMYS in multiple genres, having received the award in jazz and classical, as well as for her work with David Bowie.

With her first recording, Evanescence (1994), Schneider began developing her personal way of writing for her 18-member collective made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to the uniquely creative voices of the group. They have performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide, and she herself has received numerous commissions and guest-conducting invites, working with over 90 groups in over 30 countries.

Unique funding of projects has become a hallmark for Schneider through the trend-setting company, ArtistShare. And, in 2004, Concert in the Garden 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, and was eventually inducted into the 2019 National Recording Registry.

Schneider’s many honors also include: 14 GRAMMY-nominations, 7 GRAMMY Awards, numerous Jazz Journalists Association awards, DOWNBEAT and JAZZTIMES Critics and Readers Polls awards, honorary doctorates from her alma maters, the University of Minnesota and the Eastman School of Music, ASCAP’s esteemed Concert Music Award (2014), the nation's highest honor in jazz, “NEA Jazz Master” (2019) (NEA Jazz Master Speech found here), election into the 2020 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 2023 induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

A strong voice for music advocacy, Schneider has testified before the US Congressional Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on digital rights, has given commentary on CNN, participated in round-tables for the United States Copyright Office, has been quoted in numerous publications for her views on Spotify, YouTube, Google, digital rights, and music piracy, and has written various white papers and articles on the digital economy as related to music and beyond.

Her latest double-album, Data Lords (2020), a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, winner of two GRAMMY Awards, named Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and NPR, and winner of France's prestigious Grand Prix de l'Académie du Jazz, has melded her advocacy and art: Nate Chinen of NPR writes: “Now it's finally here, in the form of a magnificent double album, Data Lords. . . it parses into thematic halves, "The Digital World" and, as an antidote, "The Natural World." On the whole and in the details, it amounts to the most daring work of Schneider's career, which sets the bar imposingly high. This is music of extravagant mastery, and it comes imbued with a spirit of risk."

Maria Schneider and the Clasijazz Big Band at the Barcelona Jazz Festival

by Artur Moral
November 21, 2024

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 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Life Comes In: Maria Schneider Celebrates 30 Years

by Leo Sidran
November 21, 2024

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 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Scrolling Down the Leaderboard

by Monk Rowe
October 5, 2024

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. ...

Radio & Podcasts

Jotting Down Notes / The Arrangers: Part 2

by Monk Rowe
August 15, 2023

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. ...

Live Review

Maria Schneider Orchestra at Hill Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 21, 2023

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 ...

Live Review

Maria Schneider Orchestra at Herbst Theater

by Harry S. Pariser
March 18, 2023

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 ...

Year in Review

Dan McClenaghan's Best Releases Of 2020

by Dan McClenaghan
December 8, 2020

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 ...

Performance / Tour

New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies And Contemporary Musical Arts Departments Announce Spring Season

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
February 5, 2025

New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies and Contemporary Musical Arts Departments announce the Spring 2025 performance season featuring a powerful and wide-ranging series of concerts and events. Highlights include multi-Grammy Award winner Maria Schneider conducting the NEC Jazz Orchestra in a concert of her music; a world premiere by Mehmet Ali Sanlikol with the NEC Jazz Orchestra and a mehter band; CMA students in performances of music by visionaries including guest artist/composer Marc Ribot; acclaimed pianist Jason Moran in a residency ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider

Source: Michael Ricci
November 27, 2022

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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Performance / Tour

The Spring Season Brings Guest Artists and Premieres for Eastman Jazz

Source: Michael Ricci
February 27, 2022

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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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider

Source: Michael Ricci
November 27, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Maria Schneider's birthday today!

Performance / Tour

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
August 3, 2021

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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Award / Grant

New England Conservatory Alumni Win Grow Your Art Grants During Maria Schneider Residency

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
March 16, 2021

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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Event

Maria Schneider Works With New England Conservatory Students In Grow Your Art

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
February 22, 2021

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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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Maria Schneider

Source: Michael Ricci
November 27, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Maria Schneider's birthday today!

Recording

Exploring conflicts between our digital and natural worlds – through music

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
August 26, 2020

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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Birthday