Leone Buyse

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Leone Buyse: Short biography

Leone Buyse (born February 7, 1947) is an American flutist, pianist, speaker, and educator. She had a long, distinguished career in music education and performance and spent 26 years on the faculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, retiring in 2023 as professor emerita. She has also taught at the University of Michigan, the New England Conservatory, and Boston University, and played with major American orchestras.

Career highlights

- Orchestral work: Buyse held key flute roles with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Boston Symphony Orchestra (where she was assistant principal flute and the Boston Pops principal) and performed with the Boston University Chamber Players and other groups.
- Chamber music: She was a strong promoter of chamber music and helped expand flute repertoire by forming the Webster Trio in 1988 with clarinetist Michael Webster and pianist Martin Amlin, among others. The trio gave performances and made recordings across North America and internationally.
- Teaching and mentoring: In addition to Rice University, she taught at the University of Michigan, the New England Conservatory, Boston University, and the Boston Conservatory. She also gave masterclasses and coached ensembles around the world.
- Later work: Since retiring from Rice, she has remained active in teaching and coaching, including work with OAcademy, the Texas Music Festival, and the Atlantic Music Festival. She has served as a flute coach for The Orchestra of the Americas program.

Awards

- In 2010, Buyse received the National Flute Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the flute world.

Education and early life

- Born in Oneida, New York, to a musical family. Her mother was a pianist, and both parents encouraged her love of music.
- She began piano lessons early and started flute at age nine. At Ithaca College, she studied with David Berman during her junior and senior high school years.
- She earned a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music (1968) after studying with Joseph Mariano, graduating with distinction.
- She won a Fulbright grant to study in France, where she studied in Paris with Gaston Crunelle and Jean-Pierre Rampal. She attended Rampal’s summer master classes in Nice and studied with Michel Debost and Marcel Moyse in Europe.
- Buyse earned a Master of Music in Flute Performance from Emporia State University, where she also taught and performed with the Mid-America Woodwind Quintet.

Personal life

- In 1987, Buyse married Michael Webster, former principal clarinetist of the Rochester Philharmonic. He later taught at the New England Conservatory, Boston University, and Rice University and became Artistic Director of the Houston Youth Symphony.

Discography (selected)

- Solo albums: The Sky’s the Limit (1993); Contrasts: American Music for Flute and Harp (1994); Rivier Revisited (2002); Dedicated to Barrère (2006); Dedicated to Barrère, Vol. 2 (2007).
- Webster Trio / Webster Trio Japan: Tour de France (1997); World Wide Webster (2004); American Webster (2016); Sonata Cho-Cho San (1997); From Vienna to Budapest (2009).
- Selected chamber and collaborations: American Vistas: Music for Flute, Voice, Clarinet & Piano (2009); Martin Amlin: Music for Flute, Clarinet & Piano (2015); Harbison: Words from Paterson (with Boston Symphony Chamber Players); Of Angels and Shepherds (Toensing), among others.

Leone Buyse is widely recognized as one of America’s leading flute teachers and performers, known for her refined playing, teaching, and commitment to expanding the flute repertoire.