Biography
Houston and Minneapolis-based guitarist and composer, Will Schmid, has been performing his original music professionally for over a decade. Before moving to Texas for PhD studies at Rice University in 2020, his duos, trios, and quartets frequently headlined popular Minnesota jazz series including Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog, Saturday Night Jazz at KJ’s Hideaway, and the illicit Jazz Workshop. He has led ensembles in multiple appearances at the Twin Cities and Iowa City Jazz Festivals, and at nationally renowned venues such as New York’s ShapeShifter Lab and Cleveland’s BOP STOP at The Music Settlement. Will has played with cellist and ECM recording artist Michelle Kinney, guitarist and former Prairie Home Companion mainstay Dean Magraw, and Grammy award-winning trumpeter Jake Baldwin. His bands have supported Dylan Hicks & Small Screens and The Atlantis Quartet, as well as ensembles led by bassist Anthony Cox, drummer Eric Kamau Grávátt, and drummer Dave King. As a founding member of the Twin Cities modern jazz collective SPACE, he has released two full-length albums of original music, Non-Trivial Problem (2019) and The Approaching Coast (2022). His original music and live performances have been featured multiple times on KBEM FM Jazz 88, the premier jazz radio station of the Twin Cities. His collaboration with electronic music producer Hydra (now softsky) and singer Gwen Rose, Want Your Love, has been streamed over 65,000 times on Spotify. Passionate about education, Will has several years' experience teaching guitar to students of ages 8-50. Will previously studied guitar performance with Cleveland Institute of Music faculty Don Better and composition with Cleveland Jazz Orchestra director Paul Ferguson.
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Will’s current band, the Will Schmid Quartet, features pianist Patrick Adkins, bassist Alma Engebretson, and drummer Tarek Abdelqader. Will is also a member of Senseless Violets, an eclectic, multi-generational ensemble featuring guitarist Toivo Hannigan, drummer Edmund Catlin, and bassist Adam Linz.
Contact
For booking or teaching inquires, please fill out the boxes below or email willschmidmusic@gmail.com.