Lin Baird

Lin Baird is a Professor of Music and Head of the Brass/Percussion Department at the Irving S. Gilmore School of Music, Western Michigan University. She specializes in horn performance, teaching, and promoting works by women composers. Her international performances include engagements in Spain, Russia, China, and beyond, alongside roles with orchestras like the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestras. She is a core member of the Western Brass Quintet and Western Wind Quintet.

• Education: D.M.A. and M.M. from University of Wisconsin–Madison; B.M. from University of Missouri–Kansas City
• Principal teachers: Douglas Hill, Nancy Cochran, Laurence Lowe, Bruce Heim

Her research focuses on amplifying music by women composers, culminating in a catalog of over 2,200 works with horn. She maintains an active website (www.linfoulkbaird.org) and has released solo albums on Centaur Records. Summer engagements include teaching at the Kendall Betts Horn Camp and WMU’s High School Summer Music Camp.

Baird has held leadership roles in orchestras such as the Oshkosh and Manitowoc Symphonies and contributed to the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Wisconsin Wind Orchestra. Her advocacy for gender diversity in classical music is reflected in lectures and performances nationwide.