Saint Paul, MN - Lawrence "Larry" William Barnhart, of Saint Paul, MN passed away on February 5, 2026 from complications of Parkinson's Disease.

Born on May 14, 1941, in Marion Ohio, Larry was the youngest son of George Oliver Barnhart and Emily Dale Wingett.

Ever since he can remember, Larry wanted to be a musician. He started carrying his father's folding music stand for him and later the bass stand that Emily used when she played String Bass in the Sunday School Orchestra at Trinity Baptist Church. He began piano lessons at the age of five, trumpet lessons with his father at the age of eight, and then drum lessons with a family friend, Paul Habluetzel. During his high school years, Larry drove to Columbus every week for French Horn lessons with Nicholas Perrini. Upon graduation from Edison High School, he attended Capital University where he continued studies with Nick Perrini and with Bill Kearns of The Ohio State University. Larry played beside both of these teachers in the Columbus Symphony during his college years. He graduated from Capital University with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education, and then went to The Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with the legendary horn player, Myron Bloom, and finished his Master of Music degree. During this time, he was privileged to play extra horn with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Upon leaving graduate school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he performed for three years with The United States Army Band of Washington D.C. (known as "Pershing's Own"). Each week, he played at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Jefferson Memorial, or The White House.

In 1969, he moved to New York City where he worked as a free-lance musician until accepting a full-time position playing with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, which for many years was the only full-time Chamber Orchestra in the United States. Larry performed as a musician in this organization, but also served as librarian and did a great deal of managerial work. As a member of the chamber orchestra, he traveled throughout the United States and Europe, including State Department sponsored tours of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Upon leaving the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Larry continued performing as a free-lance musician in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area including playing for musical shows, the Minnesota Opera orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Larry also played timpani with the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale orchestra for 49 years, performing classical composed masses by the great composers at the weekly masses of the Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul.

In addition to performing, Larry pioneered the percussion rental and repair business in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area through his business Barnhart Percussion Services which operated from the mid-1980's through 2023. This business was a one-stop shop, supplying percussion equipment to virtually every musical organization that required rental percussion in the Twin Cities area, including the national broadway touring groups, performance ensembles, churches, universities, and public schools. Larry was also very proud of his on-site percussion repair service that allowed for clients to have their equipment serviced at their location. Larry retired from business and performing in 2023.

Larry's parents and his brother John predeceased him. He is survived by a nephew and two nieces. Larry will be interred privately beside his parents and grandparents in Mount Gilead Ohio.