Gunther Schuller (born November 22, 1925) studied at the St. Thomas Choir School and became an accomplished horn player; at the age of 17 he was principal French 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 Jazz and recorded jazz with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and John Lewis. He has been credited for coining the term Third Stream, a style of jazz, which combines classical and jazz techniques. Shuller has authored over 160 original compositions and has been the recipient of many awards, including a 1994 the 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 Mr. Schuller with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to jazz.
Mr. 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.
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