Edgar Meyer

Infobox musical artist
Name = Edgar Meyer

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Img_capt = Meyer with his double bass.
Img_size =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Edgar Meyer
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1960|11|24|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.
Instrument = Double Bass
Piano
Guitar
Banjo
Violin
Mandolin
Dobro
Genre = Classical
Bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass
Jazz
Occupation = Musician
Composer
Years_active =
Label = Sony
Deutsche Grammophon
Sugar Hill
Associated_acts = Nickel Creek, Strength In Numbers
URL = [http://www.edgarmeyer.com/ edgarmeyer.com]
Current_members =
Past_members =

Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is a prominent contemporary bassist. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. Meyer has worked as a session musician in Nashville, part of various chamber groups, a composer, and an arranger. His collaborators have spanned a wide range of musical styles and talents; among them are Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, James Taylor, Jerry Douglas, Mike Marshall, Mark O'Connor, Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and the trio Nickel Creek.

Biography

Meyer grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He learned to play the double bass from his father, the late Edgar Meyer, Sr., who directed the string orchestra program for the local public school system. Meyer later went on to Indiana University to study with Stuart Sankey. [http://oakridger.com/stories/050400/stt_0504000062.html]

Meyer is noted for achieving virtuosity on an instrument of unusual technical difficulty. His skill has allowed him to perform difficult music originally composed for other instruments, as in his recordings of Bach's unaccompanied cello suites.

Meyer has also composed a number of works that break the traditional mold of classical music, including two double bass concertos, a double concerto for bass and cello, and a violin concerto composed specifically for Hilary Hahn.

In 2000, he won the Avery Fisher Prize, given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement. In 2002, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Meyer's collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor on the widely acclaimed Sony Classical disc Appalachia Waltz reached the top of the United States pop charts for 16 weeks when it was released. Meyer collaborated again with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor on Appalachian Journey, that earned a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album. [cite web|url=http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=15101&ttype=BIOGRAPHY&ttitle=Biography/ |title=Edgar Meyer Biography|publisher=Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.|accessdate=2008-08-11]

On Meyer's self-titled 2006 Sony Classical release, he performs accompanied only by himself on a wide variety of instruments besides his usual piano and double bass, including guitar, banjo, viola da gamba, mandolin and dobro. Meyer's son, George, is in the breakthrough band The Horror!!!

Discography

ony Classical

2006
*Edgar Meyer2004
*Music For Two2002
*Meyer, Bottesini: Concertos
*Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet2001
*The American Seasons
*Perpetual Motion (Two Grammys)2000
*
*Appalachian Journey Live in Concert (VHS and DVD)
*Appalachian Journey (Grammy)1999
*Listen to the Storyteller
*Short Trip Home (Grammy nominated)
*At the Octoroon Balls1997
*Uncommon Ritual1996
*Appalachia Waltz
*Schubert: Trout Quintet; Arpeggione Sonata

Deutsche Grammophon

*Meyer: Quintet; Rorem: String Quartet

MCA Master Series

*Unfolding
*Dreams of Flight
*Love of a Lifetime
*Work In Progress
*The Telluride Sessions

ugar Hill Records

*Skip, Hop, and Wobble

Previously Released Material

*Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster
*Classic Yo-Yo
*Classical Hits
*Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology

References

External links

* [http://www.edgarmeyer.com/ Meyer Homepage]
* [http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=15101&ttype=SNAPSHOT&ttitle=Snapshot Edgar Meyer @ Boosey & Hawkes]
* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=173&c=2 Full Biography]