Dr. Alexandra Berndt is an active performer and teacher based in the Twin Cities. She joined the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra in 2016 and joined the Chione Quintet in 2018. She has served as substitute bassoon with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Oratorio Society of Minnesota, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, Bangor Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. In addition to maintaining a large private studio, she also serves as the adjunct bassoon professor at Gustavus Adolphus College and St. Cloud State University.
She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Bassoon Performance with a Secondary Emphasis in Music Theory from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. She received her Master of Music in Bassoon Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA. While in Boston, Berndt was a member of the Vento Chiaro Wind Quintet. She received her Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance summa cum laude and with Program Honors in Woodwinds from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. A 2010 Tanglewood Music Center Fellow, Berndt also attended the summer music festivals at the Brevard Music Center and the Banff Music Centre. Her primary teachers include John Miller, Richard Ranti, Suzanne Nelsen, Christopher Millard, Lewis Kirk, and David Seidel.
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading, cycling, wakeboarding, gardening, and traveling. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their tuxedo cat.