Richard Joiner (March 17, 1918 – January 6, 1999) was an American clarinetist and teacher of clarinet.

Life and career

Born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, he attended the National Music Camp in 1936 and the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

from 1936 until 1940 where he studied with Rufus Arey as the winner of the Rochester Prize Scholarship. He became principal clarinetist of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

in 1940. When he was drafted in 1941, he joined the

United States Marine Band The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the ...

, the "Presidents Own," as principle clarinetist and held the position until 1946, playing for

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's fourth inauguration on January 20, 1945, as well as his funeral at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on April 15 of that year. He played the premiere of

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

's ''Concerto for Clarinet'' on January 30, 1946, with the US Marine Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Captain William F. Santelmann. The piece was originally written for

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, although it was never performed by Goodman. At this time, in addition to touring, the band played weekly concerts on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and weekly

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

radio broadcasts, while the small chamber orchestra frequently performed for state luncheons and dinners at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. In 1946, after honorable discharge, he enrolled at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, undertaking clarinet studies with Daniel Bonade. A few weeks into the semester, he received a principle contract offer from the Baltimore Symphony (which included the offer for a teaching position at

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a private music and dance conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliated with Johns Hopkins in 1977. History Philanthropist and ...

), followed by a principle contract offer from the

Denver Symphony Orchestra The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a successi ...

which he accepted at the advice of Bonade. In 1947 he married Kathleen Joy, DSO pianist and former protégée of Antonia Brico. As principal clarinetist of the Denver Symphony (predecessor of the Colorado Symphony) from 1946 until 1982, he played under Saul Caston, Vladimir Golschmann, Brian Priestman and

Sixten Ehrling Evert Sixten Ehrling (3 April 1918 – 13 February 2005) was a Swedish conductor and pianist who, during a long career, served as the music director of the Royal Swedish Opera and the principal conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, am ...

. His playing can be heard on the DSO recording of Henry Brant's ''Trinity of Spheres'' (1979), which was re-released by Innova Records in 2006, and the orchestra's

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated world-premiere recording of Alberto Ginastera's ''Milena'' (1973) featuring soprano Phyllis Curtin, conducted by Priestman ( Desto, re-released by Phoenix USA). Other performances included numerous conferences of the International Clarinet Association, and chamber music performances with the

Juilliard String Quartet The Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman and Robert Mann. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. ...

, the Hungarian Quartet and the Paganini Quartet. In addition to the DSO, Joiner played principal clarinet for the Central City Opera for many seasons. Among numerous pieces written for Joiner are the ''Dialogue for Clarinet and Piano'', op. 60, no. 2, (1957) by Cecil Effinger (dedicated to Richard and Kathleen Joiner), and several pieces by George Lynn, including the ''Concert Piece for Clarinet and String Orchestra'', the ''Cantilena for Clarinet and Piano'', and ''Reminiscences with Folk Tunes'' (for Richard and Kathleen Joiner). He taught clarinet at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

and the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, CO. His clarinet students have performed with many distinguished ensembles, including the

Eastman Wind Ensemble The Eastman Wind Ensemble was founded by conductor Frederick Fennell at the Eastman School of Music in 1952. The ensemble is often credited with helping redefine the performance of wind band music. Considered one of America's leading wind ensemble ...

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

, Pittsburgh Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and many others. They include clarinetists Eric Mandat, Andrew Stevens and Alice Meyer. In addition, he taught clarinet lessons to jazz guitarist and composer

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

. He contributed record reviews to ''The Clarinet,'' the official publication of the ICA. He is the father of American violinist Lee Joiner and the grandfather of operatic tenor Scott Joiner.Obituary; Richard Everett Joiner - Crist Mortuary, Boulder CO 1999

References

External links

"The French Three: A Comparison (performed) of recital Music for Clarinet Written by Milhaud, Tomasi and Bozza"
University of Maryland
"A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century American Clarinetists"
Florida State University
American Music Research Center: "Guide to the George Lynn Collection"
University of Colorado Boulder Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Joiner, Richard 1918 births 1999 deaths American classical clarinetists Eastman School of Music alumni Musicians from Wichita, Kansas 20th-century American classical musicians 20th-century American musicians Players of the National Symphony Orchestra United States Marine Band musicians