Maria Newman is an award-winning American composer of classical music and a critically acclaimed violinist, violist and pianist. She is the youngest daughter of Alfred Newman, a major Hollywood film composer. Maria holds the Louis and Annette Kaufman Composition Chair; and the Joachim Chassman Violin Chair at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture and is the founder of the Malibu Friends of Music, in Malibu California. Newman has become a visible symbol in modern classical music, deriving her living from commissions and performances. Her extensive library of scintillating and highly discussed works represents a range of genres, from large-scale orchestral works, works for the ballet, chamber works, choral and vocal works, to new collaborative scores for vintage silent film. She has been presented with numerous awards and commissions from venerable professional organizations and ensembles around the globe, including musical commendations from the United States Congress, the California State Senate and the California State Assembly. 

January 18th, 1962 in Los Angeles (Age 62)