Debra Richtmeyer
Professor of Saxophone
B.M. (music education) and M.M. (saxophone performance), Northwestern University; student and TA for Dr. Frederick Hemke, additional study with Larry Combs, former Principal Clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Debra Richtmeyer, an internationally renowned saxophonist and pedagogue, has been Professor of Saxophone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1991 and has performed as a soloist and clinician in North America, Europe, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Thailand and China. She has performed or recorded as a concerto soloist with numerous bands and orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Slovak Radio Orchestra, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Washington D.C. United States Navy Band. She was principal saxophonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1991 and with the St. Louis Symphony from 1992-2002. She is Past-President and Honorary Life Member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and an Artist/Clinician for Conn-Selmer Incorporated.
Professor Richtmeyer has won numerous awards and prizes and has been an invited Juror for music competitions at all levels, including prestigious competitions such as the 2010 and 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana, the 2018 SaxGo International Saxophone Competition in Slovenia, the 3rd Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in Bangkok, Thailand and numerous North American Saxophone Alliance national solo and chamber music competitions. She has premiered commissioned works at eight World Saxophone Congresses and four North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences. In 1997 in Valencia, Spain Richtmeyer became the first woman to be invited to perform a concerto with orchestra at a World Saxophone Congress. In 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, she became the first woman to be invited to give a master class at a World Saxophone Congress. In July 2012 she performed the Lee Actor Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for the Final Gala concert at the World Saxophone Congress held in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Her solo CD, Extravaganza for Saxophone and Orchestra, (Albany Records 2003) was reviewed by the American Record Guide as "…flawless...an extraordinary album..." Her CD, World Without Words, Debra Richtmeyer and the 2008-2009 University of Illinois Saxophone Studio (Mark Records), was selected for the 2011 Grammy Entry List and was reviewed by internationally renowned French saxophonist, Jean-Marie Londeix as, “Remarkable…exemplary… Impeccable playing… It is proof one more time of her talents (including that of the conductor) and of the excellence of her teaching. Her university and students are very lucky to have her.” In 2010 Professor Richtmeyer recorded the Lee Actor Concerto for Saxophone for his "Concertos" CD (Navona 2011) reviewed by the American Record Guide as "...a terrific piece…Richtmeyer gives it a wonderful reading. She has the requisite technical skills and a flair for the dramatic, and she expertly walks the classical saxophone's timbre tightrope...". Recent performance activities include co-commissioning and premiering Joel Love's "Solace for Saxophone and Wind Ensemble" with the Illinois Wind Symphony at the 2019 CBDNA national conference in Tempe, AZ and the ISMTA state conference, Dr. Steve Peterson, conducting.
Her new book, Between the Notes: A Saxophonist's Guide to Practice, Performance and Pedagogy will be released in the spring of 2020 by Theodore Presser Co., and will include 24 chapters divided into three sections: Fundamentals, Practice and Performance Techniques and Teaching Techniques.
Richtmeyer’s students and former students are leaders in the next generation of classical saxophonists and teachers. They have won numerous prizes and awards at the local, state, national and international levels, and many have gone on to become saxophone professors, band directors and members of elite U.S. military bands. Others are teaching and performing throughout the United States, and in Canada, Europe, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. In 1997 Richtmeyer received the University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts Award for Outstanding Faculty. In 2002 she was named a recipient of the University of Illinois Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. She was the first of only two faculty members in the University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts to have received this award.
Prior to her appointment at the University of Illinois Professor Richtmeyer was a saxophone professor at the University of North Texas and an instructor at Lawrence Conservatory. She received her degrees are from Northwestern University where she was a Teaching Assistant and student of Dr. Frederick L. Hemke.
B.M. (music education) and M.M. (saxophone performance), Northwestern University; student and TA for Dr. Frederick Hemke, additional study with Larry Combs, former Principal Clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Debra Richtmeyer, an internationally renowned saxophonist and pedagogue, has been Professor of Saxophone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1991 and has performed as a soloist and clinician in North America, Europe, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Thailand and China. She has performed or recorded as a concerto soloist with numerous bands and orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Slovak Radio Orchestra, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Washington D.C. United States Navy Band. She was principal saxophonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1991 and with the St. Louis Symphony from 1992-2002. She is Past-President and Honorary Life Member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and an Artist/Clinician for Conn-Selmer Incorporated.
Professor Richtmeyer has won numerous awards and prizes and has been an invited Juror for music competitions at all levels, including prestigious competitions such as the 2010 and 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana, the 2018 SaxGo International Saxophone Competition in Slovenia, the 3rd Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition in Bangkok, Thailand and numerous North American Saxophone Alliance national solo and chamber music competitions. She has premiered commissioned works at eight World Saxophone Congresses and four North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences. In 1997 in Valencia, Spain Richtmeyer became the first woman to be invited to perform a concerto with orchestra at a World Saxophone Congress. In 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, she became the first woman to be invited to give a master class at a World Saxophone Congress. In July 2012 she performed the Lee Actor Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for the Final Gala concert at the World Saxophone Congress held in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Her solo CD, Extravaganza for Saxophone and Orchestra, (Albany Records 2003) was reviewed by the American Record Guide as "…flawless...an extraordinary album..." Her CD, World Without Words, Debra Richtmeyer and the 2008-2009 University of Illinois Saxophone Studio (Mark Records), was selected for the 2011 Grammy Entry List and was reviewed by internationally renowned French saxophonist, Jean-Marie Londeix as, “Remarkable…exemplary… Impeccable playing… It is proof one more time of her talents (including that of the conductor) and of the excellence of her teaching. Her university and students are very lucky to have her.” In 2010 Professor Richtmeyer recorded the Lee Actor Concerto for Saxophone for his "Concertos" CD (Navona 2011) reviewed by the American Record Guide as "...a terrific piece…Richtmeyer gives it a wonderful reading. She has the requisite technical skills and a flair for the dramatic, and she expertly walks the classical saxophone's timbre tightrope...". Recent performance activities include co-commissioning and premiering Joel Love's "Solace for Saxophone and Wind Ensemble" with the Illinois Wind Symphony at the 2019 CBDNA national conference in Tempe, AZ and the ISMTA state conference, Dr. Steve Peterson, conducting.
Her new book, Between the Notes: A Saxophonist's Guide to Practice, Performance and Pedagogy will be released in the spring of 2020 by Theodore Presser Co., and will include 24 chapters divided into three sections: Fundamentals, Practice and Performance Techniques and Teaching Techniques.
Richtmeyer’s students and former students are leaders in the next generation of classical saxophonists and teachers. They have won numerous prizes and awards at the local, state, national and international levels, and many have gone on to become saxophone professors, band directors and members of elite U.S. military bands. Others are teaching and performing throughout the United States, and in Canada, Europe, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. In 1997 Richtmeyer received the University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts Award for Outstanding Faculty. In 2002 she was named a recipient of the University of Illinois Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. She was the first of only two faculty members in the University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts to have received this award.
Prior to her appointment at the University of Illinois Professor Richtmeyer was a saxophone professor at the University of North Texas and an instructor at Lawrence Conservatory. She received her degrees are from Northwestern University where she was a Teaching Assistant and student of Dr. Frederick L. Hemke.
