She co-founded the trio in 1972 with other Michigan State faculty members, including her husband and violinist Walter Verdehr, and pianist David Renner.
[3] Silvia Roederer, Professor of Piano at Western Michigan State University has been the pianist for the trio since Kirkpatrick.
Boasting a list of over 200 new commissioned works from over fifty composers[4] the trio has expanded the breadth of the clarinet trio repertoire to include contemporary works by some of today's most important living composers, such as Karel Husa, Libby Larsen, Gunther Schuller, and Dan Welcher.
As the result of studying with clarinetist Harold Wright while attending the Marlboro Music Festival, Ludewig-Verdehr employs a double-lip embouchure, wherein the upper lip wraps around the top teeth, which are normally in direct contact with the mouthpiece of the clarinet.
Other famous clarinetists who have performed using double-lip embouchure include Reginald Kell, Kalmen Opperman, David Weber and Richard Stoltzman.