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Maria Schneider Teams With Dawn Upshaw

On March 5th Maria Schneider will release Winter Morning Walks featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw. It is Schneider's first recording with major orchestras and features two commissioned works composed and conducted by Schneider with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra, andpoetry by Ted Kooser and Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Blurring the line between classical and jazz, with touches of avant-garde and pop sensibilities, Winter Morning Walks marks a new chapter in an already illustrious career.

Winter Morning Walks is the first partnership between Schneider and Upshaw, bringing together two preeminent figures in jazz and classical music. Schneider, who worked with Gil Evans and studied with Bob Brookmeyer, has been commissioned to compose for jazz orchestras and artists all over the world, has won two GRAMMY Awards and has been nominated for several more. Writing for TIME Magazine, Terry Teachout said, "To call Schneider themost important woman in jazz is missing the point two ways. She's a major composer-period." Upshaw was also deemed "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the LA TIMES, is a multiple GRAMMY winner and MacArthur Fellow, and has performed at the Metropolitan Opera over 300 times.

In 2004 Schneider pioneered the fan-funding model by becoming the first artist to sign with ArtistShare to release 'Concert In The Garden, ' the first web-exclusive recording to win a GRAMMY. With Winter Morning Walks she has become one of the first artists to record major orchestras with fan-funding methods.

The first work, 'Winter Morning Walks, ' features the Australian Chamber Orchestra, consists of nine pieces and includes poetry by Ted Kooser, taken from his book of the same name. Three musicians long associated with Schneider's jazz orchestra, Jay Anderson (bass), Frank Kimbrough (piano), and Scott Robinson (alto clarinet + bass clarinet), seamlessly add colorful improvisation throughout these pieces.

The second, 'Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories, ' features The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and consists of five songs with poetry by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, one of Brazil's most beloved poets. This soaring orchestral work rooted in classical harmony and melody was recently performed at Carnegie Hall and fit snugly between works by Stravinsky and Bartok.

WINTER MORNING WALKS tracklist:
1.) Perfectly Still This Solstice Morning
2.) When I Switched On a Light
3.) Walking By Flashlight
4.) I Saw a Dust Devil This Morning
5.) My Wife and I Walk the Cold Roads
6.) All Night, in Gusty Winds
7.) Our Finch Feeder
8.) Spring, the Sky Rippled with Geese
9.) How Important It Must Be

Carlos Drummond de Andrade Stories:
10.) Prologue
11.) The Dead in Frock Coats
12.) Souvenir of the Ancient World
13.) Don't Kill Yourself
14.) Quadrille



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