Daniel Schnyder

Daniel Schnyder is known as a composer/performer with a solid reputation in both jazz and classical fields. He recorded over ten CDs of his own music for Enja Records, Koch Jazz, CCnc, Universal, Arabesque and Red Records. As a performer Daniel toured and recorded with many well known classical musicians, world music artists and jazz artists.

Daniel was born 1961 in Zurich, Switzerland and lives in New York City. His orchestral works and his chamber music compositions have been performed and recorded all over the world. Among his credits as a composer are commissions to write compositions for the Vienna Art Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (4th Symphony, commissioned by David Zinman), the Opera of Bern ("Tempest" by Shakespeare), the NDR Orchestra in Hannover, the NDR Big Band in Germany, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the New York based new music group "Absolute Ensemble" under the direction of Kristjan Jaervi (Bass Trombone Concerto for David Taylor) and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra among many others.

The Album "Absolution" (Enja Nova) featuring Daniel Schnyder's Trombone Concerto received a Grammy nomination for "Best Classical Small Ensemble Recording" in 2002. Daniel toured Europe and Australia with his trio, featuring David Taylor and Kenny Drew jr., playing music of Gershwin, Bach, Vivaldi, Wagner and Ellington in addition to his own new compositions bridging the worlds of classical music and jazz. He frequently performs with his special chamber music project for saxophone and string quartet, combining composition and improvisation, jazz and traditional chamber music. He currently writes a string quartet dedicated to and commissioned by the Carmina Quartet. Daniel appears as a soloist with orchestras playing his "Songbook for Saxophone and Orchestra".

As an arranger/composer he produced albums for jazz artists Abdullah Ibrahim ("African Suite"), Lee Konitz ("Tribute to Billie Holiday") and Paquito D'Rivera ("Habanera", Enja Records). He also worked with Simon Shaheen and Jamey Haddad on projects to merge Arab music elements with jazz and classical music.

In 1997 Schnyder was commissioned to write the opening orchestral piece for the official inauguration of the renovated concert hall of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the baton