LeClair, Judith

Judith LeClair (born 1958), from Newark, Delaware, is an American bassoonist. She is the principal bassoonist in the New York Philharmonic since 1981 and on 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 won the position of principal bassoon with the San Diego Symphony shortly after her graduation from Eastman, acting in this position from 1979-1981. 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 commission for the piece. Her primary instrument is Heckel bassoon #8093. Her first teacher, a student, owned the bassoon; after he died in an accident at the age of 19, LeClair's parents bought the instrument from the boy's family. In addition to her orchestral career, LeClair is also an active chamber musician and has taught numerous masterclasses. She is married to pianist Jonathan Feldman, who is the former head of the collaborative piano department at Juilliard, where he currently teaches. She gave birth to son Gabriel at age 41. They currently live in Haworth, New Jersey.