Debra Richtmeyer has been Professor of Saxophone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1991 and has performed as a soloist in the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Thailand. She has performed in back-up ensembles for such entertainers as Natalie Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Seals & Crofts, Doc Severinsen and Bob Hope, and has performed or recorded as a featured soloist with numerous ensembles, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, United States Navy Band, and the Indianapolis, Knoxville, Slovak Radio, and Zlin Martinu Czech Republic orchestras.

Professor Richtmeyer has premiered commissioned works at six World Saxophone Congresses and three North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences, and in 1997 became the first woman to perform as a concerto soloist with orchestra at a World Saxophone Congress. Professor Richtmeyer has given featured recitals and master classes at numerous venues including the World Saxophone Congress, British Saxophone Conference, The U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference, and Paris Conservatory. 

Professor Richtmeyer’s solo recording, Light of Sothis, was described by The Saxophone Symposium as, “sterling throughout ... a first- class soloist by any standards.” The Dallas Morning News called her performance, “atmospheric ... and ravishing ... first-class solo playing.” Richtmeyer’s solo CD, Extravaganza for Saxophone and Orchestra, was recently released by Albany Records and was reviewed as "…flawless...an extraordinary album..." by the American Record Guide. Her latest CD, World Without Words: Debra Richtmeyer and The University of Illinois 2008-2009 Saxophone Studio, was just released by Mark Records. The CD contains eight newly commissioned compositions for saxophone(s) by composers Hilary Tann, Keith Murphy, Erik Lund, Ed Martin, Dieter Mack, Henning Schröder, James Bunch, and Stephen Andrew Taylor. The CD contains saxophone solos, duos, quartets, and three large ensemble compositions. 

Previously a member of the music faculty at the University of North Texas from 1981-1991, Richtmeyer holds degrees from Northwestern University, where she was a student and teaching assistant of Frederick L. Hemke. In 2002 she received the University of Illinois Campus Award for Outstanding Graduate and Professional Teaching and the College of Fine and Applied Arts Award for Outstanding Faculty in 1997. Professor Richtmeyer is President of the North American Saxophone Alliance, and is an artist and clinician for Conn-Selmer Incorporated.

For a list of current and former students presenting at the upcoming North American Saxophone Alliance conference March 3-6 in Athens, GA, please go to 2010 NASA conference.

My goal in education is to inspire and teach students to learn and develop their craft to their best abilities, so that they may continue to grow under their own guidance and be able to share that talent and knowledge with current and future generations. I believe that students must develop an understanding and ability to perform technical, musical, and tonal skills to the level that they can then communicate the heart and soul of the music, as intended by the composer, within the context of their own artistry and life experience. Showing students how to study, how to practice, how to listen, and how to become their own teacher is paramount in my educational philosophy. I strive to help students develop their musical intuition, intelligence, confidence and consistency, and to enable them to become their “own artist.”