LIBBIE JO SNYDER

Flutist • Singer

Rarely is a performer able to charm audiences of all ages with an elaborate and varied repertoire, and yet exude an ease and poise as if there were nothing to it. Libbie Jo Snyder is a perpetual "breath of fresh air" when she glides on stage with her flute, leaving one feeling both relaxed and exhilarated by her intimate, yet breezy, musical style.

Called a "jazzy twist of class" by writer Bruce Fessier of the Palm Springs Desert Sun, Libbie is a musical master of everything from baroque to blues, which she both sings and plays on flute. Her performances – a combination of jazz, blues, classical and pop – are often joyful, sometimes moody, but always eloquently and generously delivered.

As a musician, songwriter and singer, Libbie has performed with many different noted artists and groups including Paul Horn, Jane Getz, Sean Phillips, Buddy Collette, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Baroque Jazz Ensemble and the Greg Smith singers. As a dancer and actress, she has performed in several films and over 22 musicals, having worked with such noted directors as Paul Mazursky, Elia Kazan, and Uta Hagen. And she composed the incidental music for the documentary film, "Concert in the Grand Canyon," and for "The Reluctant Muse."

Libbie has played flute in film scores by composers such as Elmer Bernstein, Jack Nitzsche, David Amram and Bruce Langhorn, for such movies as "The Deep" and "Heroes." She received an ASCAP Super Song Award in 1979 for "Love is So Revealing," has had two songs published by MCA, and wrote incidental flute music for the American Library Association’s Best Film of 1980, "Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry." Her song, "I Wanna Wear a Diamond in My Belly Button," was chosen as one of the best rock satires of the 1970s.

A native of Michigan, Libbie is a descendant of the Adams family, which produced two United States presidents (John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams) and noted journalist and writer Samuel Adams. But her immediate family was a theatrical one; Libbie spent her high school summers dancing, singing and acting in her uncle’s summer-stock company. She went on to the University of Michigan where she divided her time between the School of Music and the Ann Arbor Repertory Company.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the University of Michigan, Libbie moved to Southern California and began graduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC). She soon began working with Latin artist Jo Loco on Fania Records. This early influence has remained with her; Libbie’s favorite music, both to write and perform, is in the jazz idiom with a Latin flavor, music she playfully terms "pop bop."

Libbie taught flute courses at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles for eight years. In the early 1980s, she was named one of "Los Angeles’ Best Music Teachers" by Los Angeles magazine. At that time, she formed her own ensemble and has since performed both as a classical and jazz artist. Easily adapting to any audience, she has appeared in local clubs and series such as the Arco "Concerts in the Sky," the Long Beach Jazz Festival, the Queen Mary Jazz Series and Century City Plaza Concerts. She has also performed at the Troubadour, the Gardenia Club, and the Cinegrill.

She has culled a fine share of media accolades, including a winsome item by noted Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith in 1985. And Harvey Siders delighted in Libbie’s work, calling her "talented and gregarious" and "a walking bundle of fusion," in Los Angeles’ Daily News in 1981.

In 1995, Libbie was one of 35 people chosen to work, study and perform for "Orvieto Musica," a chamber music performance workshop held in Orvieto, Italy.

Libbie co-produced with keyboardist Jane Getz a recording, titled "The Flute & Voice of Libbie," featuring diverse songs that make a curiously soothing, yet exciting, blend. Fans have the double pleasure of hearing Libbie both sing and play flute, and three of the compositions are her own. Songs on the track range from the lively and whimsical title song, to the mellow, Latin-flavored, "Only a Dream," to the haunting "Treasure Island," to the dreamy and romantic "You’re My Everything," and Libbie added her own special twist on the standard "Whistle a Happy Tune." It was a finalist in an international jazz competition sponsored by Sony in 2004 and in 2006 she appeared at the "Mt. Beauty Music Festival" in Australia.

Currently, she is performing at local Los Angeles clubs including "The Vibe" at the Van Nuys Airport and other venues, including the Maggiano’s at the Grove and the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. A fan recently told her, "Your music is one of the few things that can both lower my blood pressure and make me feel like dancing." And what does Libbie do to relax? She enjoys yoga, cooking, and giving delightful parties that include her own special jam sessions with guests.

###