He is a flautist born in Fort Wayne, Indiana who studied at Oberlin College Conservatory, Indiana University and in Austria at Salzburg’s Mozarteum Academy of Music.
In 1966 he became Assistant Principal Flute of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and remained there for two years before becoming a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1968 . He retired from the orchestra in 2019 and was presented with the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service.
He has also been a chamber musician and as a member of Chicago Pro Musica won a Grammy Award in 1987 as Best New Classical Artist.
During the 1990s he and his wife, Emily, who is also a flautist, led the Galena Chamber Ensemble in performances in Galena, Illinois in its chamber music concert series. He has since played with the Juiliani Ensemble with other members of the CSO.
In the field of musical education he has been on the faculty of Indiana University as Professor of Music in Flute in 1986 while taking a leave of absence from the CSO, Northwestern School of Music as a Associate Professor of Flute and Baroque Flute and Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts’ Music Conservatory. He owns a collection of historical flutes and teaches the Baroque one-keyed flute.
Recordings he has performed on include Ives & Copland Sonatas by Easley Blackwood, Early Chamber Works by Elliott Carter, Igor Stravinsky/Rimsky-Korsakov:L’Histoire Du Soldat/Capriccio Espagnol, William Walton: Facade and The Medinah Sessions by Chicago Pro Musica, Corigliano: Symphony No. 1, Wagner: Overtures and Preludes; Brahms: Violin Concerto/Sonata No. 3, Solti/Chicago: The Complete Recordings and the soundtrack for the film Lincoln by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Yellowstone: The Music of Nature by Mannheim Steamroller along with several others.
Outside of music he has won an award for conservation work in Native Prairie Restoration from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
His son, Richard, is a horn player who has been Assistant Principal Horn with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
He performs here…
Sources:
- https://csosoundsandstories.org/richard-k-graef-assistant-principal-flute/
- https://www.roosevelt.edu/academics/faculty/profile/rgraef
- https://twitter.com/chicagosymphony/status/1208555982764363777
- https://www.julianiensemble.org/meet-the-musicians.html
- https://www.glassatrisk.com/perfection-the-laurent-crystal-flute
- http://www.tallgrasschambermusicfestival.com/artist-faculty.html
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/richard-graef-mn0001237064
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/3599586-Richard-Graef
- https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/profile/richard-graef/