Richard Spece

Richard Spece (b. March 4, 1967) is an American musician. Spece was born in Coos Bay, Oregon and spent his early childhood in coastal Oregon. Later years were spent in Portland, Oregon. Spece was raised by his father Richard Spece, Sr., a Naval seaman and war veteran and his mother Patricia Spece, an accountant. In younger years, Spece developed a strong affinity for music in large part because of his paternal uncle Henry (Hank) Spece. The two spent hours working through jazz fundamentals and listening to recordings of prominent and not-so-prominent jazz artists.

Spece first fell in love with classical literature through his public school music program and through participation in the Portland Youth Philharmonic and the Greater Portland Wind Ensemble. Spece went on after secondary school to pursue multiple university degrees in music.

Today, he is an accomplished and internationally-recognized musician on both modern and early clarinet. He currently resides in the mid-atlantic area with his wife, Ava Spece, and their two sons.

Education and training
Spece graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Music degree studying with Dr. Thomas (Stan) Stanford. From there he continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, in Detmold, Germany. He earned his Master of Music degree at the University of Washington while studying with Professor William McColl, and his Doctor of Music degree at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana where he worked with Professor , Mr. Alfred Prinz, and Professor Howard Klug. Spece began studying early clarinet during his minor Doctoral work with Professor William McColl.

Performance
Over the years, Richard Spece has gained extensive chamber music experience which eventually led to the formation of the Saeculum Aureum Players of which he is a founding member. Along with soloing and chamber music, Spece has performed with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe.

Spece's fervor for period instrument performance led him to perform with such ensembles as the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Ama Deus Ensemble, California Bach Society, Magnificat, Classical Consort, and Concert Spirituel. He has performed on numerous chamber music series including the Alexander Paley Festival in Richmond, Virginia, Music on the Mountain Series, Camas, Washington, the Mozart Society of California Chamber Music Series in Carmel, California, the Instituto de la Cultura Festival de Primavera, Chihuahua, Mexico, and the Summer Festival of Sacred Music in New York City. Mr. Spece has also received critical acclaim for his recording, Vintage Woodwinds, on Crystal Records which has received outstanding reviews from BBC Music Magazine, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, Peninsula Reviews, The Seattle Times, The Instrumentalist, Classics Today, The Clarinet, De Klarinet, and L’ovabese.

In 2005, critically acclaimed and Pulitzer-nominated American composer Scott McAllister, wrote a piece for Spece entitled BlingBling. Spece premiered the piece at the Strathmore Music in the Mansion Series in January 2006, in a performance including the artistry of pianist Alexander Paley.

Teaching
Spece has taught clarinet at universities in Oregon, Washington, Indiana, and Texas. He has also taught in a variety of capacities as private instructor and coach throughout the U.S. In addition, he has given numerous master classes across the country, at a variety of universities and music schools.

Discography
Anton Reicha: Woodwind Quintets Volume TBA, Westwood Wind Quintet]: John Barcellona, Flute â—? Peter Christ, Oboe â—? Richard Spece, Clarinet â—? Charles Kavalovski, Horn â—? Patricia Nelson, Bassoon, Crystal Records (Forthcoming release 2008)

Anton Reicha: Woodwind Quintets Volume TBA, Westwood Wind Quintet: John Barcellona, Flute â—? Peter Christ, Oboe â—? Richard Spece, Clarinet â—? Charles Kavalovski, Horn â—? Patricia Nelson, Bassoon, Crystal Records (Forthcoming release 2008)

19th Century Romantic Music, Richard Spece - Clarinet, Charles West - Clarinet, Alexander Paley - Piano and Pei-Wen Chen - Piano, (2007)

Vintage Woodwinds, Richard Spece - Clarinet, William McColl - Basset Horn, Jeffrey Cohan - Flute and Bonnie Garrett - Fortepiano, Crystal Records CD738 (2001)

Mozart: Gran Partita, The Rainier Chamber Winds, RCWINDS label RCWR-021001 (2001)

Saxophone Vocalise, with Eugene Rousseau as soloist and Frederick Fennell conducting the Winds of Indiana, on the Delos label (1994)

Piano Concertos by Mozart, with the Northwest Sinfonietta, Sonic Window label (1999)

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