Norbert Nielubowski

Norbert Nielubowski, a native of Chicago, joined the Minnesota Orchestra in 1987 and became the orchestra’s contrabassoonist in 1993. An active chamber music musician, he has performed at many music festivals throughout the country.

Before joining the Minnesota Orchestra, he served as contrabassoonist of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, as well as principal bassoonist of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and the Contemporary Chamber Players at the University of Chicago. In the past several years he has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic and Minnesota Opera Orchestra. He has worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles and Chicago on various projects, including several motion picture soundtracks.

Since 1988 he has been the bassoonist with the Twin Cities chamber ensemble, The Musical Offering, and in 2010 he became the group’s co-artistic director.

Mr. Nielubowski is also a member of the faculty of the University of Minnesota School of Music and has given master classes at Concordia College, Indiana University and the University of Illinois, Champaign.

His main teachers have been Willard Elliot, John Miller and Louis Skinner.

He and his wife, hornist Caroline Lemen, live in St Paul Minnesota. In addition to his musical pursuits he is also an accomplished woodworker and furniture maker.