Wendy Holdaway studied bassoon at the New England Conservatory, obtaining her Master's Degree and working with the Boston Opera. Since settling in Mexico in 1982 she has played with the Fine Arts Opera Orchestra and the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet. She is currently principal bassoon of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional. However, she is actively involved with contemporary chamber music and has premiered several works dedicated to her.

In 1992 she was awarded a grant from the Council for the Arts to create a new repertoire for bassoon and piano. With Trio Neos she was granted an award for excellence in chamber music in 1989 and from the Fund for Culture Mexico/USA in 1993 and again in 1997 with their project to create and record music by women of the Americas.

Wendy Holdaway also plays with the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, which received a grant from the Mexico Council for the Arts in 1994, 1997 and 1999 for its projects to commission repertoire for the quintet. With Trio Neos she has recorded two compact discs of Mexican and Latin American music and one of music of women composers of the Americas. With the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet she has recorded a compact disc of Mexican music and a compact disc of Latin American music. She has also collaborated with many Mexican composers in the creation and recording of their music. With Mario Lavista she recorded both a video and a compact disc "Cuaderno de Viaje" of his piece "Responsorio" for bassoon and percussion and with Joaquin Gutierrez Heras on his compact disc "Musica de Camara".

She currently teaches bassoon and chamber music at the Ollin Yoliztli Conservatory of Music and the National Center of the Arts where she created and wrote the syllabus for the wind chamber music program.