Maria Schneider to Release First New Album in Five Years

Winter Morning Walks’ features orchestras, vocalist Dawn Upshaw

By Jeff Tamarkin

Composer and bandleader Maria Schneider will release Winter Morning Walks, her first album in five years, on March 5. Recorded with soprano Dawn Upshaw, the album features two commissioned works composed by Schneider and featuring the Saint Paul and Australian Chamber Orchestras. Schneider conducted both orchestras and, according to a release from her publicist, “became the first artist to use fan-funding methods to record major orchestras for this project.”

Maria Schneider

The recording consists of two pieces. The first is the title track, featuring Upshaw and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The nine songs that comprise the work include poetry written by Ted Kooser, taken from his book of the same name.

“Carlos Drummond De Andrade Stories” is the second work and consists of five songs, recorded by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with Upshaw singing. The poetry featured in this work is by Carlos Drummond.

For more information, visit Maria Schneider.