Leonard Garrison, D.M.

Leonard Garrison is professor emeritus of flute and former university distinguished professor and associate director in the Lionel Hampton School of Music at University of Idaho and recipient of the university’s inaugural Presidential Mid-Career Award and an Idaho Commission on the Arts Fellowship. He is flutist in the Scott/Garrison Duo, principal flute of the Walla Walla Symphony, and past president and program chair of the National Flute Association, which honored him with its Distinguished Service Award. In summers, he teaches and performs at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan.

His 12 CDs, including premiere recordings of Joseph Schwantner’s "Looking Back" and many other works, have received rave reviews. "Flute Talk" magazine called "Superflute" “astounding,” and "The Flute Network" said “his performance was ‘just ‘superior’ both in brilliant technique and musicianship.” "Fanfare Magazine" wrote of "East Meets West", “Flutist Leonard Garrison’s basic sound is extraordinary—uncommonly rich, pure, and true.” Garrison has been flutist in the Chicago Symphony (including a 2003 tour of Japan) and the Tulsa Philharmonic, soloist on National Public Radio's "Performance Today," winner of the 2003 Byron Hester Competition, concerto soloist on both flute and piccolo, and a frequent performer at National Flute Association conventions. He has taught at The University of Tulsa, Bowling Green State University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. "The Flutist Quarterly," "Flute Talk" and other journals have published his articles.

Garrison holds a Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with Walfrid Kujala and Richard Graef. He received Master of Music and Master of Arts degrees from The State University of New York at Stony Brook, studying with Samuel Baron. His Bachelor of Music is from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where his teacher was Robert Willoughby.