Richard Nunemaker
“I have been using the same type of metal ligatures for years. After seeing and hearing so many colleagues playing the Silverstein ligature I thought maybe it was time to give something new a try. Wow! From the first blow I was hooked. What I like about the ligature on both clarinet and bass clarinet is the depth of sound. The Silverstein ligature brings out the full range of overtones in my sound.” ~ Richard Nunemaker
Richard Nunemaker has had a varied and prolific career as a symphony musician, concert soloist, recording artist, producer, educator and author. Richard Nunemaker played clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone with the Houston Symphony Orchestra from 1967-2008. He also played principal clarinet and saxophone with the Houston Latin American Philharmonic Orchestra from 2012-2016. He was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra in 1966, the Louisville Orchestra from 1964-1966 and the Erie Philharmonic from 1962-1964.
Born in Buffalo, New York Nunemaker’s career has run the gamut from managing his own dance bands in high school, to being in the pit for New York road show productions such as West Side Story, My Fair Lady and South Pacific. He is also a featured soloist both in recital and with symphony orchestras around the country.
A strong advocate of music by living American composers, Nunemaker has commissioned over one hundred works for clarinet and saxophone. As a record producer he has produced and recorded five solo CDs featuring this music. He has been a featured soloist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra and on numerous occasions has appeared with that orchestra in live television and radio broadcasts. Nunemaker has recorded two CDs with the Houston Symphony Orchestra featuring the music of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. He has published four books, Scale and Chord Studies, If The Shoe Fits, The Effortless Clarinet and The Effortless Saxophone.
Nunemaker has been an artist/teacher for the Las Vegas Music Festival and The Sewanee Summer Music Center. At present he is a member of the faculty for the University of St. Thomas, Houston, and the American Festival for The Arts. Nunemaker also has served as the woodwind/clarinet coach for The Houston Youth Symphony and keeps an active private studio. Richard Nunemaker is past president of The Houston Composers Alliance, Music by Living American/Houston Composers.
