Judith LeClair

Judith LeClair (born 1958), from Newark, Delaware, is an American bassoonist. She has been the principal bassoon in the New York Philharmonic since 1981 and on the faculty at the Juilliard School since 1985, LeClair began studying the instrument at age 11 and began her professional career at the age of 15 in a performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with colleagues from the Settlement Music School in Ph... more

Judith LeClair (born 1958), from Newark, Delaware, is an American bassoonist. She has been the principal bassoon in the New York Philharmonic since 1981 and on the faculty at the Juilliard School since 1985, LeClair began studying the instrument at age 11 and began her professional career at the age of 15 in a performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with colleagues from the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, where she studied with Shirley Curtiss. She studied bassoon with K. David Van Hoesen at the Eastman School of Music, and held the principal chair in the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera for two seasons after her graduation in 1979 before winning her position with New York. John Williams' bassoon concerto, The Five Sacred Trees, was written for LeClair and her "unparalleled artistry"; she premiered it in April 1995 as part of the New York Philharmonic's 150th anniversary festivities after having chosen him to receive the... less