Maria Schneider Orchestra

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About Maria Schneider Orchestra

The Maria Schneider Orchestra is one of the most acclaimed large jazz ensembles of the past three decades, led by composer, conductor, and arranger Maria Schneider. Known for her evocative, impressionistic compositions that draw from jazz, classical, Brazilian, and other world music traditions, Schneider has established herself as one of the foremost composers in contemporary music.

Born in Windom, Minnesota, Schneider studied at the University of Minnesota and the Eastman School of Music before moving to New York City, where she studied with Bob Brookmeyer and served as Gil Evans’s assistant in the final years of his life. Evans’s influence is evident in her lush orchestrations and painterly approach to big band writing, though Schneider has developed a wholly original voice.

Schneider formed her orchestra in 1993 and soon established a residency at Visiones in Greenwich Village, which ran until the club closed in 1998. The band became known for its extraordinary personnel, drawn from the top echelon of New York jazz musicians, and for Schneider’s compositions, which often unfold like tone poems, with patient development and rich textural variety.

Her recordings have earned widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards. Schneider won Grammy Awards for Concert in the Garden (2005), which was notably the first album to win a Grammy after being funded through ArtistShare, Sky Blue (2007), The Thompson Fields (2015), Data Lords (2020), and her collaboration with David Bowie on his final album, Blackstar (2016). Her music often explores themes of nature, memory, and place, with works inspired by subjects ranging from birds to the Minnesota prairie of her childhood.

The orchestra continues to perform regularly, with Schneider’s conducting bringing an expressiveness and dynamism that makes each performance a unique experience.