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Richard Ramey, a musician versed in classical, jazz, and Latin-American music, draws upon his varied musical background in his work as a performer and educator. He is Professor of Bassoon at the University of Arkansas and Principal Bassoon with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Ballet Orchestra, Tulsa Opera Orchestra, Tulsa Oratorio, and the Fort Smith Symphony. His membership in chamber music groups include the Ramey Trio, Lyrique Quintette, Boston Mountain Chamber Players, the bassoon quartet, Uncle Roy's Bassoons, and the Latin group, Olor a Café. He has also been a member of the Flagstaff Festival of the Arts Orchestra, Music Festival of Arkansas, Grand Rapids Symphony, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and while in Los Angeles, The Baroque Consortium.
As a recitalist and clinician, Mr. Ramey has been invited to perform at many International Double Reed Society conferences. His university appearances include The Ohio State University, Catholic University, Ithaca College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Florida State University, University of Texas-Austin, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of California-Los Angeles, Brigham Young University, University of Maryland, Ball State University, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, University of Montana, University of Kentucky, University of Oklahoma-Norman, University of Montana, Idaho State University, Eastern New Mexico University, Missouri State University, University of Colorado, and schools in Canada, Germany, and Thailand. At the University of Arkansas, the annual Double-Reed Rally, held each November, regularly attracts students of oboe and bassoon from a multi-state region.
Premieres by Mr. Ramey include the bassoon quartet and wind ensemble version of "Who Needs Enemies..." with the Air Force Band of Mid-America, Imágenes for bassoon quartet by Costa Rican composer Vinicio Meza, Bright Angel for bassoon quintet by English composer Graham Waterhouse, Shadow by Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen, and Dharmachakra; Concerto for Woodwind Quintet and Orchestra, also by Prangcharoen. Dharmachakra was premiered during a nationally-televised performance in Bangkok, with the National Symphony of Thailand.
A renowned expert in wind chamber music, Mr. Ramey has performed in the chamber setting for over 30 years. Several of his performances have been heard on NPR's "Performance Today." Mr. Ramey has recorded four CDs: Olor a Café, featuring music for bassoon, piano, and Latin percussion, Night Sessions, featuring the bassoon quartet Uncle Roy's Bassoons, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue featuring the Lyrique Quintette, and Time Labyrinths, with oboist Theresa Delaplain. His next recording projects are a three-disc collection of unaccompanied works for bassoon, a three-disc collection of music by the American composer Robert Baksa, a duo-bassoon collection, and an instructional CD set of the Weissenborn Advanced Studies for Bassoon. His recordings appear on the Naxos, Javelina, and Nuance labels.
As a member of The Lyrique Quintette and Boston Mountain Chamber Players, he is listed in the Mid-America Arts Alliance Touring Roster.
Mr. Ramey is the Artistic Director of the Boston Mountain Chamber Players, the faculty performing ensemble in residence at the University of Arkansas. While doing graduate work in Tempe, Arizona, he co-founded the Nouveau West Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble known for its seamless blending of 20th-Century works with those of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic masters, and for its regular commissions of new orchestral works by contemporary composers such as R. Carlos Kakai and David Ward-Steinman.
Richard Ramey is known as an arranger of music for bassoon quartet with many of his arrangements performed by various groups throughout the U.S. and Europe. He recently completed a one-hour version for bassoon ensemble, piano, and percussion of the music from Khachaturian's ballet Spartacus. He is also Director of the University Bassoon Ensemble, a group well-known for its innovative programming and surprising presentations.
As a scholar, Mr. Ramey is the author of several articles appearing in the International Double Reed Journal and The Instrumentalist. He has also authored the book, Secondary Orchestra Excerpts for Bassoon and his latest work, The Ultimate Scale and Arpeggio Book for Bassoon will be published soon. He is the coeditor, with colleague, oboist Theresa Delaplain, of The Double-Reed Chronicle, the only publication in the U.S. specifically geared towards junior high and high school double-reed students.
Mr. Ramey is involved in many facets of research concerning bassoon practice and performance, and has been the recipient of numerous grants to further development in these areas. His current area of research involves integrating the instrument into the jazz medium. A sabbatical project culminated in a comprehensive guide entitled "Audition Strategies for Orchestral Musicians," which is available as a lecture. He is a member of several musical societies including the International Double Reed Society, the British Double Reed Society, the Midwest Double Reed Society, and the American String Teachers Association.
He holds degrees in Bassoon Performance and Musicology from the University of Southern California, a masters degree in Bassoon Performance from Arizona State University, and is a DMA candidate at Michigan State University. His teachers included Willard Elliot, David Breidenthal, Alan Goodman, Manuel Zegler, Michael O'Donovan, and the internationally-acclaimed bassoonist, Norman Herzberg.
Mr. Ramey does have musical interests outside of the bassoon. He is also a performer of the theremin, the oldest commercially-produced electronic instrument, and recently acquired one of the last Etherwave Pro Limited Edition theremins produced by Moog Music.
