Before coming to Wichita Falls, Barbara Kavanaugh worked as the director of MasterWorks Chamber Music, an internationally-renowned program that involved hundreds of talented string players (college and high school) and dozens of string quartets, quintets, and trios. She served as the principal coach for these chamber groups, as well as coordinating performances, repertoire, auditions, and hiring other faculty for the program.

Mrs. Kavanaugh's orchestra Experience includes playing principal cello in orchestras from Washington D. C. (Asaph Ensemble) to Moscow (CPAF Orchestra) to England (MasterWorks Philharmonic) to China (Zhengzhou Orchestra). 

An avid devotee of chamber music since her studies at the Meadowmount School of Music in New York, Mrs. Kavanaugh has performed much of the standard repertoire for string quartet and piano trio. From 1988 to 1997 she was the cellist of the Clarendon String Quartet and from 2004 to 2015, she performed with the MasterWorks Piano Trio, and served as the Artistic Director of the Second Sunday Series – a monthly performance of chamber music.

In addition, she consistently maintained a private teaching studio. She has adjudicated at many competitions and festivals, coached cello sections in several youth orchestras, and was the faculty String Coordinator for the Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D. C.  She also served on the Board of Directors for the MasterWorks Festival.