Big band jazz featuring Maria Schneider

Maria Schneider is this year’s recipient of the Rolf Schock Prize. A highly acclaimed American composer and bandleader, she is best known for her own ensemble, the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, featuring some of New York’s leading jazz musicians. Over the years, she has emerged as both an innovator and a formative voice within the big band tradition. On this occasion, she performs with the Finnish UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra.

Maria Schneider has developed a distinctly personal musical voice in the lineage of Gil Evans and Duke Ellington. Her extensive output spans several decades and includes collaborations with Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the American Dance Festival and David Bowie. She is one of the few artists to have received Grammy Awards in multiple genres, including jazz and classical.

UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra is Finland’s only professional big band. With 16 top-level musicians and some 80 concerts annually in Finland and internationally, the ensemble offers a wide-ranging repertoire from jazz to soul and classical – often in unexpected combinations. Founded in 1975, the orchestra has recorded more than 60 albums and celebrates its 50th anniversary in the 2025–2026 season.

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The Rolf Schock Prizes are international awards presented in the fields of logic and philosophy, mathematics, visual arts and musical arts. 

The jury’s citation reads:
“Maria Schneider is awarded the 2026 Rolf Schock Prize for her unique and innovative artistry, in which her compositions unite humility, formal clarity and a deeply personal expression. Through her internationally influential work and her important advocacy for musicians’ rights, she serves as a central role model and source of inspiration for new generations within the art form of jazz.”