Maria Schneider’s music is praised by critics for being “evocative”, majestic, magical and heart-stoppingly beautiful. Their first album, ‘Evanescence’, was released in 1994. Schneider developed her own style of writing for her 17-member ensemble, which included many of the best musicians in jazz today. She tailors her compositions to highlight the unique voices of the group. The Maria Schneider Orchestra has since performed at concerts and festivals around the world. Her own work has been a part of numerous guest conducting invitations and commissions. She has worked with more than 85 groups representing over 30 countries, including those from Europe, South America and Australia. Schneider’s music blurs genre lines, so her long list of commissions has become very varied. She’s worked with over 85 groups from all over the world, including the Norrbotten Big Band, Ivan Lins’ Danish Radio Orchestra, Monterey Jazz Festival (Scenes from Childhood), the American Dance Festival (for dance company), Pilobolus – Dissolution), the Metropolitan Orchestra in the Netherlands, the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands and the Monterey Jazz Festival (Scenes from Childhood), the American String Quartet, Kronos Quartet (String Quartet No. 1), The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with soprano, Dawn Upshaw (Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories) and most recently, the Ojai Festival, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Cal Performances (Winter Morning Walks), featuring soprano, Dawn Upshaw, and three musicians long associated with Schneider: pianist, Frank Kimbrough, bassist, Jay Anderson, and multi-instrumentalist, Scott Robinson. Schneider and her orchestra have had a distinguished recording career, with nine GRAMMY nominations as well as two GRAMMY awards. Through ArtistShare(r), Schneider has made it a tradition to fund projects in unique ways. She documents her creative process to share with her fans who “fan-fund her recordings” through preorders. With the help of her ArtistShare(r), fan base, she’s composed four pieces for her orchestra. Concert in the Garden (2004), her album, was the first to be awarded a GRAMMY for music that was sold exclusively online. It was ArtistShare’s (r) first release and blazed the trail for “fan funding”. Both Concert in the Garden’s and Sky Blue’s albums were named Jazz Albums of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association, and DOWNBEAT Critics Poll. They received widespread critical acclaim. Schneider was awarded an honorary doctorate by her alma mater, University of Minnesota in 2012. from www.mariaschneider.com
