The Ensemble

Dr. Hannah Palmquist Hite, harp • Susan Miranda, oboe

Ensemble Bio

Dúo León is a versatile oboe and harp ensemble based in the Twin Cities.  The duo performs music by composers of multiple genres with a focus on new music by underrepresented composers. Dúo León has shared educational programs with classrooms across Minnesota and has shared their interactive musical story The Ugly Duckling by harpist and composer Alyssa Reit with libraries throughout Minnesota.  

As a duo with a focus on new music, the ensemble is currently in the midst of a commissioning and recording project commissioning local composers to create new music based on the five National Park sites throughout Minnesota. The ensemble recently recorded Hidden Currents by MN composer Katherine Bergman which takes inspiration from the northernmost stretch of the Mississippi River during winter. Dúo León worked with WI composer Theresa Martin on their second “National Park” composition based on the St. Croix River during spring, and flutist/composer Julie Johnson for a piece inspired by Voyageurs National Park.

As trailblazers in the expansion of repertoire for oboe and harp duo, the ensemble enjoys premiering new music. In March of 2019 Dúo León premiered Ben Osterhouse’s Fancy Mouse at a Schubert Club Courtroom Concert. The duo was invited to premiere Hidden Currents at the 2020 International Double Reed Society Conference which was cancelled due to the pandemic and was premiered in January of 2022.  The ensemble premiered One Way to Hear the Snow by MN composer Libby Larsen in February of 2022 in Winona, MN at the Marine Art Museum, Across by Theresa Martin at the International Double Reed Society Conference in 2022, and First Ice on Kabetogama at Hamline University in 2024.

Besides playing beautiful music together, the duo enjoys spending time with their families. Dr. Palmquist-Hite serves as a paralegal at a criminal defense firm in Minneapolis, and Dr. Miranda is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Oboe at Oklahoma State University. Together they have three little girls between the two of them. They enjoy travel, are constantly educating themselves in various capacities, and they both love spending time outdoors!