She collaborated with Evans for the next few years, working with him on music for a tour withSting and assisting him as he scored the filmThe Color of Money. Before she became one of the most acclaimed composers and bandleaders of her generation, Schneider received an NEA Apprenticeship Grant to study withBob Brookmeyer in 1985.[8]
In 1988, Schneider formed her first band in collaboration with jazz trombonistJohn Fedchock, her husband at the time, and that group appeared at Visiones inGreenwich Village.[9][10] Both that group and her marriage would dissolve, but Schneider followed up in 1992 by forming the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, which would appear weekly at Visiones from 1993 until the venue closed in 1998. Albums by the group have been released as by the Maria Schneider Orchestra since 2000.
From 2005 through 2019, the Maria Schneider Orchestra performed an annual Thanksgiving week-long gig at theJazz Standard inNew York City.[11] The orchestra has also performed at jazz festivals and concert halls in Europe, South America, and Asia. Schneider has performed with over 80 groups in over 30 countries and has taught at universities worldwide. In 2013, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Although three of the orchestra's albums had been previously nominated, Schneider'sConcert in the Garden (2004) was the first to win aGrammy Award. It was also the first such award-winning album produced byArtistShare, afan funded platform that has (as of 2017) received 30 Grammy Award nominations and 10 Grammy Award wins.[12] The orchestra has since won additional Grammy Awards for the large-ensemble jazz albumsThe Thompson Fields andData Lords, while Schneider receive Grammy Awards for individual compositions on the albumsSky Blue andData Lords. The orchestra performed a 30th anniversary concert in November 2024 atThe Town Hall inNew York City, marking 30 years since the release of their first album,Evanescence.
Schneider has been a strong advocate for musicians' rights and copyright.[14] She has testified before Congress, and has been asked to participate in severalround tables conducted by theUnited States Copyright Office. Schneider has been outspoken againstYouTube and so-called "freemium" streaming models. She has published several open letters and white papers on these topics.
Schneider's advocacy againstbig data companies and their impact on music, culture and privacy is reflected in some of her compositions of the late 2010s, including pieces entitled "Data Lords", commissioned by the U.S. Library of Congress (2016);[16] "Don't Be Evil";[17] and "Sputnik". Several of these compositions appeared on the 2020 albumData Lords.
On July 2, 2020, Maria Schneider filed a class action lawsuit with Pirate Monitor Ltd. against YouTube arguing that smaller copyright holders are unable to access YouTube's Content ID system which would allow them to publish, monetize, and block infringing material. Schneider and Pirate Monitor claimed that they and other small copyright rights holders were denied access to Content ID, leaving them only the options of self-policing or ignoring infringement of their own property. They also argued that Content ID's weak punishments encourage repeat infringement and that YouTube did not qualify for DMCA safe harbor.[18][19]
Schneider at TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival, 2009
Pirate Monitor Ltd voluntarily withdrew from the class action lawsuit on March 8, 2021, while Maria Schneider continued with the case.[20][21] The case was dismissed in June 2023 before going to trial.[22]
^Biography Index,New York:H.W. Wilson Co.;OCLC8264686;ISSN0006-3053 Vol. 18: September 1992 – August 1993 (1993);OCLC59569808 Vol. 22: September 1996 – August 1997 (1997) Vol. 27: September 2001 – August 2002 (2002);OCLC865173264 Vol. 30: September 2004 – August 2005 (2005) Vol. 31: September 2005 – August 2006 (2006)
^Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the people in music. Volume 48. Detroit:Thomson Gale (2004) (biography contains portrait);OCLC19730669;ISSN1044-2197
