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Gunther Schuller (born November 22 1925) studied at the Saint Thomas Choir School and became an accomplished horn player; at the age of seventeen he was principal hornist with the Cincinnati Symphony, and two years later took up a similar position with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In 1959 he gave up performance to devote himself to composition. He has conducted internationally and studied and recorded jazz with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and John Lewis. He has been credited with coining the term Third Stream, a style of jazz that combines classical and jazz techniques. Schuller has written over 160 original compositions. In the 1960's, Schuller was president of the prestigious New England Conservatory. He created the jazz program at NEC, which today is one of the strongest jazz centers in the world. Schuller is editor-in-chief of Jazz Masterworks Editions, and co-director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Another recent effort of preservation was his editing and posthumous premiering at Lincoln Center in 1989 of Charles Mingus' immense final work, Epitaph, subsequently released on Columbia/Sony Records.
Awards and recognition Schuller has been the recipient of many awards, including the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for his composition written for the Louisville Symphony Of Reminiscences and Reflections, the MacArthur Foundation "genius" award (1991), the William Schuman Award (1988), given by Columbia University for "lifetime achievement in American music composition", and ten honorary degrees. In 1993, Downbeat Magazine honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to jazz. Grammy Award for Best Album Notes - Classical: | ||||||||
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