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 Principal Bassoon of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Ballet Orchestra, Tulsa Opera Orchestra, and the Tulsa Oratorio. His membership in chamber music groups includes the Tulsa Camerata, bassoon quartet, Rascal 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 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, the University of New Mexico, the University of Arizona, the University of Montana, Ohio University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Oklahoma, Eastern Kentucky University, Eastern New Mexico University, Southwest Missouri State University, and schools in Canada, Germany, and Thailand.
Premieres by Mr. Ramey include Daniel Baldwin’s Dark Side of the Moon Concerto for 2 Bassoons, Rock Band, and Wind Ensemble with the West Point Band, Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings; the life and times of Woody Guthrie for Chamber Ensemble and Singers, Russell Peterson’s bassoon quartet and wind ensemble version of Who Needs Enemies... with the Air Force Band of Mid-America, Suite Cantando for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano and Trio No. 2 for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano, both by Bill Douglas, Imágenes for bassoon quartet by Costa Rican composer Vinicio Meza, Bright Angel for bassoon quintet by Graham Waterhouse, Cuatro Cuentos for Unaccompanied Bassoon by Mike Curtis, 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, featuring 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 many CDs, including Olor a Café, featuring music for bassoon, piano, and Latin percussion, and Night Sessions, featuring the bassoon quartet Uncle Roy’s Bassoons. His next recording projects are a three-disc collection of unaccompanied works for bassoon and an instructional CD set of the Weissenborn Advanced Studies for Bassoon. His recordings appear on the Naxos and Javelina labels.
While doing graduate work in Tempe, Arizona, Mr. Ramey 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 Nakai and David Ward-Steinman.
Drawing on his extensive career as an orchestral bassoonist and teacher, Richard Ramey has been particularly adept at creating bassoon ensemble transcriptions of popular, Latin, jazz, and classical works. His classical transcriptions include works by Barber, Beethoven, Dvořák, Grieg, Mozart, Poulenc, and Saint-Saëns, as well as popular transcriptions by Average White Band, The Beatles, Carole King, Coldplay, Deep Purple, Mungo Jerry, and Chubby Checker. His most recent work is a one-hour transcription of Khachaturian's ballet, Spartacus for bassoon quintet, piano, and percussion. Mr. Ramey is published by Imagine Music and Javalina Press.
As a scholar, Mr. Ramey is the author of several articles appearing in the International Double Reed Journal and The Instrumentalist. His latest book is The Essential German-English Music Dictionary. He has also authored the book "Secondary Orchestra Excerpts for Bassoon," which is now being prepared in a revised and expanded edition. For eight years, he was the co-editor of The Double-Reed Chronicle, the only publication in the U.S. specifically geared towards junior high and high school double-reed students. An upcoming book, The Ultimate Scale and Arpeggio Book for Bassoon, is nearing completion and expected to be published in 2026.
Mr. Ramey is involved in many facets of research concerning bassoon practice and performance, and has been the recipient of 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, and the American String Teachers Association.
He holds degrees in Bassoon Performance and Musicology from the University of Southern California, a master's degree in Bassoon Performance from Arizona State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. His teachers included Willard Elliot, 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.
Charlotte Miller Couch made her operatic debut as the infamous Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro with the Tulsa Opera. Additional roles performed include Mrs. McLean in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, the Witch in Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Carmen. Other performances include The Magic Flute, Fidelio, Carmen,
Tosca, and Madame Butterfly. She has appeared as a soloist in numerous concert and oratorio works such as Handel’s Messiah, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor as well as Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Mrs. Miller Couch has also made many appearances performing alto/mezzo solos with the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus. These include Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Magnificat in C, Mozart’s Vesperae Solemnis de Confessore and Beethoven’s Mass in C. For her performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C, the Tulsa World praised Mrs. Miller Couch for singing “most impressively” and “with authority throughout the evening."
As well as performing professionally as a mezzo-soprano, Mrs. Miller Couch enjoys performing as a bassoonist. In addition to filling out the bassoon section of the Tulsa Symphony, she performs with the Oklahoma Symphonia, Bartlesville Symphony, and Southwest Kansas Symphony.
Tosca, and Madame Butterfly. She has appeared as a soloist in numerous concert and oratorio works such as Handel’s Messiah, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor as well as Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Mrs. Miller Couch has also made many appearances performing alto/mezzo solos with the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus. These include Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Magnificat in C, Mozart’s Vesperae Solemnis de Confessore and Beethoven’s Mass in C. For her performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C, the Tulsa World praised Mrs. Miller Couch for singing “most impressively” and “with authority throughout the evening."
As well as performing professionally as a mezzo-soprano, Mrs. Miller Couch enjoys performing as a bassoonist. In addition to filling out the bassoon section of the Tulsa Symphony, she performs with the Oklahoma Symphonia, Bartlesville Symphony, and Southwest Kansas Symphony.
Dr. Robert D. Jordan, Inventor of the patented Jordan Key, performed with the United States Air Force
Bands for 21 years, where he presented recitals, master classes, and was a frequently featured soloist on
tours throughout the United States and Europe. Currently, he performs with the Saint Louis Symphony,
Opera Saint Louis, Chamber Music Society of Saint Louis, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Edwardsville
Symphony, and Greenville Symphony. He holds degrees from Louisiana State University, the University of
Michigan, The Ohio State University and a Performer's Certificate from UW-Milwaukee Institute of
Chamber Music. His teaching appointments have included the University of Dayton, Denison University
Heidelberg University, The Ohio State University, Tiffin University, UW-Milwaukee, Sinclair Community
College, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Missouri Baptist University, Greenville University, and presently at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE) and Southwestern Illinois College, and
McKendree University.
Bands for 21 years, where he presented recitals, master classes, and was a frequently featured soloist on
tours throughout the United States and Europe. Currently, he performs with the Saint Louis Symphony,
Opera Saint Louis, Chamber Music Society of Saint Louis, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Edwardsville
Symphony, and Greenville Symphony. He holds degrees from Louisiana State University, the University of
Michigan, The Ohio State University and a Performer's Certificate from UW-Milwaukee Institute of
Chamber Music. His teaching appointments have included the University of Dayton, Denison University
Heidelberg University, The Ohio State University, Tiffin University, UW-Milwaukee, Sinclair Community
College, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Missouri Baptist University, Greenville University, and presently at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE) and Southwestern Illinois College, and
McKendree University.
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