Barbara Harbach, professor of music at UMSL, will be honored Dec. 1 as a 2011 YWCA Leader of Distinction.

Barbara Harbach, professor of music at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, will be honored Dec. 1 by the YWCA of Metropolitan St. Louis as a 2011 YWCA Leader of Distinction.

Each year, YWCA Metro St. Louis recognizes up to 10 extraordinary women for their special contributions to business, politics, education, science and technology, the arts, the professions and racial justice in St. Louis. These Leaders of Distinction are recognized at the YWCA Leader Lunch in December each year.

More than 1,200 people typically attend the annual tradition. The  Leader Lunch also recognizes a Racial Justice Leader, a Future Leader and women who have been selected by their employers as Leaders in the Workplace.

Harbach says she is extremely honored to be included in this year’s Leaders of Distinction cohort.

“I am honored and humbled to be part of the 2011 YWCA Leaders of Distinction, following in the footsteps of so many outstanding women,” she said.

Harbach is being honored for her contributions to the arts. The YWCA’s website quotes the All Music Guide in describing her accomplishments: (Barbara Harbach) “has distinguished herself as one of the pre-eminent American composers of any generation.”

The website continues: “Harbach’s catalog of works include opera, string orchestra, musicals, works for chamber ensembles, film scores, modern ballets, organ, harpsichord, piano and choral anthems. She has toured extensively as both concert organist and harpsichordist, and a substantial body of work has been written for and dedicated to her.

“She is also involved in preserving the manuscripts of historical and contemporary women composers, and she founded Women in the Arts–St. Louis, a celebration of the achievements of women creators.”

Women in the Arts recently concluded a highly successful international conference.

The YWCA Leader Lunch will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Millennium Hotel, 200 S. Fourth St. in downtown St. Louis. Tickets are $150 per person. Contact Bernadette McCaffrey Groner at 314-531-1115, ext. 230, or bmccaffrey@ywcastlouis.org for reservations or more information.