Maria Schneider, Composer/Conductor
with the USF Jazz Ensemble I

Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as "evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly 
gorgeous, and beyond categorization."  Blurring the lines between musical genres, she is on a very 
short list of those who have received GRAMMY Awards in both "jazz" and "classical" categories.  
Her long list of commissioners are amazingly varied and range from the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra 
& Jazz at Lincoln Center to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The American Dance Festival, and the 
Kronos Quartet.

Schneider's latest fan-funded recording  'Winter Morning Walks,' with Dawn Upshaw, the St. Paul 
Chamber Orchestra, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra earned three 2014 GRAMMY Awards: 
Best Contemporary Classical Composition ('Winter Morning Walks'), Best Classical Vocal Performance 
(Dawn Upshaw), and Best Engineered Recording/Classical.   But since her own orchestra’s debut 
recording in 1994 ("Evanescence") she has garnered a total of 10 GRAMMY nominations as well as 
numerous commissions and guest conducting invites, working with over 85 groups from over 30 
countries spanning Europe, South America, Australia, Asia and North America.