18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY february 23-march 1, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com As she prepares to perform in Carmel, composer Maria Schneider reflects on writing music, and her attempts to protect creative copyright. By Agata Pop˛eda Big Band vs. Big Tech She has won seven Grammys, recorded nine albums and worked with jazz icons (Gil Evans, Bob Brookmeyer) and rock artists alike (David Bowie, Sting, Phish). Music is born in Maria’s Schneider’s head, then gets expressed by her 18-member Maria Schneider Orchestra. But Schneider is a trailblazer not only in a sense that she conducts rooms full of musicians—which she is, a tiny, youthful-looking, long-haired conductor, like her inspiration, jazz orchestra conductor Toshiko Akiyoshi, delicate but commanding, displaying a sorcerer-like power as she conjures music out of bodies and instruments. Schneider also speaks openly against publishing practices of YouTube, its parent company Alphabet (which also owns Google) and other “data lords,” who steal music profits from their creators. While making music, Schneider has also become an outspoken leader in a movement. In 2014 she testified before the U.S. Congress to help in a review of the Copyright Act. She is also involved in a class-action lawsuit against YouTube, seeking “damages and injunctive relief for copyright infringement.” Schneider accused YouTube of mass copyright infringement, failing to suspend repeat infringers and restricting access to anti-piracy tools, among other allegations. She criticized the fact that her content can be uploaded by anyone, anytime, without much vetting on “My music brings up whatever comes up,” Maria Schneider says of the composing process. “I sit and I write and I’ll be playing something and in my mind images come up, and it’s like the images start driving the music. I follow that to finish the piece.” Above right, Schneider pictured in artwork accompanying her new album, Data Lords. Briene Lermitte Schneider Briene Lermitte Schneider
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