Flute

Barbara Leibundguth was a member of the Minnesota Orchestra for twenty years, including fourteen as co-principal, and she has also performed as acting principal flutist with many major orchestras, including those of Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Houston. Born in Chicago, she attended the University of Chicago and Grinnell College before transfering to Northwestern University, where she studied with Walfrid Kujala, piccoloist with the Chicago Symphony. Her first job was principal flutist with the Omaha Symphony and Opera/Omaha, and in the summers she studied with legendary French flutist Marcel Moyse, and performed at festivals such as Marlboro, Blossom, and Grand Teton. Since coming to Minnesota, Barbara has been featured playing Bach on A Prairie Home Companion, and she won a McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists in 2002. She has recorded a CD, Visionary Duos, for the Albany label, and in the past several years she has had the pleasure of playing regularly as a substitute with the SPCO, Detroit Symphony, and Milwaukee Symphony. Barbara has served as adjunct faculty member at Gustavus Adolphus College and also works as a professional gardener and home organizer. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and daughter.