Faculty
Maxine Ramey
Maxine Ramey combines an international reputation as a clarinet recitalist with a distinguished teaching career. Ms. Ramey joined the faculty of the University of Montana in 1992 and balances an active performance schedule with her dedication to teaching. She’s received two awards for Meritorious Teaching & Creative Activity from the University of Montana, and has been a featured performing artist at Montana Music Teacher Annual Conferences in 2000 and 2001 and the Washington State Music Teacher Annual Conference in 2005. Before coming to the U of M, she was professor of clarinet at Eastern New Mexico University and held teaching fellowships at Michigan State University and Arizona State University.
In addition to teaching clarinet and coaching chamber music, she is clarinetist with resident faculty ensembles such as the Montana Woodwind Trio and the Sapphire Trio. The Sapphire Trio has toured in Japan, Germany and Austria. In May of 2006, the US Embassy sponsored the trio in a tour of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. More information about the Sapphire Trio can be found at www.sapphiretrio.com
Maxine Ramey has performed as principal clarinet and as a concerto artist with orchestras in Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas and Michigan. Washington Post reviews call her performances “Refreshing, fluid and idiomatic”. the Albuquerque Journal states “.she demonstrates extraordinary performing skills”.
In 2005 she was also a featured performer at the MTNA National Conference in Seattle and the Clarinetfest2005 in Tokyo, Japan. She has been invited to perform at the Clarinetfest2006 in Atlanta, the 2006 American String Teacher Assoc. Conference in Kansas City, and the 2006 International Double Reed Conference at Ball State University.
Maxine Ramey has been a featured guest artist at the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, the Alabama Clarinet Festival, at International Double Reed Society conferences in the US and Germany, Northern Plains Clarinet Symposia, the Michigan Contemporary Clarinet Festival at Michigan State University and the Clarinet Celebration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was a featured artist at the Louisiana Clarinet Festival and the Eastern Kentucky University Clarinet Festival . The Montana Woodwind Trio presented a recital at the National Flute Association conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Maxine Ramey was a featured recitalist at the Clarinetfest 2003 International Clarinet Associationconference in Salt Lake City Utah. She recently was a featured artist the Clarinet Day at UNLV.
Maxine Ramey regularly hosts and performs at the Montana/Idaho Clarinet Festival. Reports and reviews of this festival appear each year in the THE CLARINET. Ms. Ramey is an advocate of new music and regularly programs the music of the late 20th century and 21st century on her recitals. As Solo/Principal Clarinet with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, she premiered new works by Jean Francaix, Jacques Casterede and Ivan Tcherepnine during the re-lighting ceremonies at the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. U of M’s Sapphire Trio champions the newly commissioned works by the renowned Verdehr Trio. Ms. Ramey collaborated with Los Angeles Times Writer Mary Platt in writing the cover story celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Verdehr Trio in the 25th Anniversary Issues of THE CLARINET chronicling the life and work of the legendary Elsa and Walter Verdehr.
She earned her Bachelor of Music from Arizona State University and continued her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree work at Michigan State University. Her teachers include Elsa Ludewig Verdehr, Keith Stein, Frank Ell, Ronald DeKant , and Fred Ormand.. Maxine Ramey is listed on the International Artist Roster of Buffet Clarinets
Contact Professor Ramey: maxine.ramey@umontana.edu
For more information, visit The Sapphire Trio or Maxine Ramey