Most all of The 2024 Festival Musicians will be returning for the 2025 Festival, along with some new performers. The list of our talented performers from 2024 are listed below!
Your 2024 Performers
Keith Taylor
It is an honor to welcome back my good friend and
co-founder of the festival Keith Taylor.
We started the Festival in the summer of 1998, moving two or three pianos
around town ourselves and having a fantastic time making music.
Keith Resides in Haines Oregon where he is the music scene in town. He still teaches
music and performs weekly.
Keith Taylor was born and raised in Oregon. His parents lived in rural sections of Oregon (his father worked in sawmills) they provided for his musical education. Taylor began piano lessons at five years of age and was performing and composing music when he was ten.
In the early fifties, the Taylor family moved to Ketchikan, Alaska where Keith went to high school. At that time the town was still a wide-open Western town with plank streets and swinging doors on the saloons. While in high school he played piano on Creek Street, in the heart of the red-light district. The records of Crazy Otto and Joe Fingers Carr were very influential in his developing piano style. During the summers he worked in sawmills, making enough money to go to college.
Taylor returned to Oregon to study music at Willamette University and eventually received a B.M. degree in Piano. Further graduate study included music composition at the University of Oregon and with Halsey Stevens at USC. Taylor received his Master's degree in Composition in 1964 and did additional graduate study in Paris, France. The following years were spent teaching public school music in Oregon and California. Teaching provided the money and the time to pursue his real interest, composing and playing piano.
The major turning point in his career was in 1972 when Eubie Blake played the Stars and Stripes by Sousa.
This rag was quickly copied and two more rags, Maple Leaf and Alexander's Ragtime Band were memorized. Taylor was hooked. His performances now included ragtime. Other performers were enlisted to play ragtime orchestrations and sing ragtime songs. The annual "Ragtime In Review" program was initiated at this time. Taylor began playing at festivals from the first festival in Sedalia to the West Coast festivals. Records, cassettes and published music followed.
Paul Orsi
Paul Orsi arrives at the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival fresh from having captured the world championship of the 2019 Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, held annually over Memorial Day Weekend in Oxford, Mississippi. Due to the current Covid19 pandemic, the 2020 Festival was postponed until May 27-30, 2021. Paul has participated in the global competition for the last several years and brought home to the West Coast the 2019 world championship.
A ragtime aficionado since the 1970s revival sparked by "The Sting." Paul began professionally performing at age 13 at pizza parlors in the Los Angeles area and has been wowing audiences throughout Southern California ever since with his high energy ragtime style.
He's probably best known as a Disneyland Coke Corner pianist, a platform he enjoyed from 1983-1992. After a lengthly hiatus, aul returned to the Ragtime scene in 2015, bringing more pizzazz than ever. In addition to his active performance schedule, which includes many local retirement communities in Southern California, Paul has composed new piano Rags, recorded piano rolls and issued CD'S.
Paul Orsi arrives at the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival fresh from having captured the world championship of the 2019 Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, held annually over Memorial Day Weekend in Oxford, Mississippi. Due to the current Covid19 pandemic, the 2020 Festival was postponed until May 27-30, 2021. Paul has participated in the global competition for the last several years and brought home to the West Coast the 2019 world championship.
A ragtime aficionado since the 1970s revival sparked by "The Sting." Paul began professionally performing at age 13 at pizza parlors in the Los Angeles area and has been wowing audiences throughout Southern California ever since with his high energy ragtime style.
He's probably best known as a Disneyland Coke Corner pianist, a platform he enjoyed from 1983-1992. After a lengthly hiatus, aul returned to the Ragtime scene in 2015, bringing more pizzazz than ever. In addition to his active performance schedule, which includes many local retirement communities in Southern California, Paul has composed new piano Rags, recorded piano rolls and issued CD'S.
Carl Sonny Leyland
Carl Sonny Leyland was born & raised on the South Coast of England, growing up close to the city of Southampton. As a child he was drawn to the American music which he heard on LP records his father would play. It was here that he developed an appreciation for Dixieland jazz, the rock & roll of the 1950s & the country music of Jimmie Rodgers & Hank Williams. At age 15 Leyland discovered boogie woogie when he heard a school friend working through a written arrangement of a tune called JD's Boogie Woogie (Marvin Wright). Captivated by the sound of the repeating 8 to the bar left hand pattern, Leyland was inspired to go to the piano & begin on a path that would become his life's purpose. Within 3 months he would be performing in public & shortly after would become a member of a respected local group "The Bob Pearce Blues Band."
Initially influenced by boogie woogie greats Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson & Meade 'Lux' Lewis, Leyland went on to fully explore the piano blues genre, becoming an authority on early & obscure styles such as those played by Cow Cow Davenport, Little Brother Montgomery, Montana Taylor & Speckled Red to name a few. Leyland has also continued his involvement with the rockabilly scene & plays each year in the backing band at Viva Las Vegas & more recently at the Summer Jamboree in Senegalia, Italy. In this capacity he has worked with such notables as Janis Martin, Ruth Brown, Billy Lee Riley & Carl Mann. (See 'Career History' page for a complete list of artists). Whether playing solo or with his trio, Leyland's playing displays an infectious spontaneity, providing plenty of surprises for the listener. While he possesses the necessary vocabulary to pay tribute to the greats of old, he refuses to be limit himself to this & prefers to let each performance be an opportunity to say something new.
Michael Chisholm
Michael is originally from Houston, Texas, but now living in Southern California, and grew up in a musically appreciative family. His first music training was in middle school, where he learned to play the xylophone and marimba. Eventually, he graduated to piano. Michael's first exposure to ragtime was watching JoAnn Castle play on a rerun of the Lawrence Welk Show. From that moment, he knew ragtime was his style of music. Since then, he has composed over 50 rags and has started collecting the original prints of ragtime sheet music. Besides piano, Michael likes to rag out on the flute, piccolo, and clarine
Frederick Hodges
Hailed by the press as one of the best concert pianists in the world, Frederick Hodges is sought after by today’s foremost orchestras, festivals, conductors, and collaborative musicians. His artistry, virtuosity and charisma have brought him to the world’s most renowned stages, leaving audiences around the globe captivated.
Classically trained as a concert pianist, Frederick Hodges has established a reputation as a truly versatile artist equally sought after as soloist, singer, guest soloist with the California Pops Orchestra, and dance band pianist with Don Neely’s Royal Society Jazz Orchestra. His extensive repertoire includes all the best ragtime, stride, and novelty piano solo pieces. He has appeared on national television, radio, and in several Hollywood films. He is also a much sought-after silent film accompanist for both live performances and on DVD. He performs regularly at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. Frederick has participated in many prestigious festivals including in Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the WestCoast Ragtime Festival, The Blind Boone Festival in Columbia Missouri, the Templeton Ragtime Festival at Mississippi State University, the El Segundo Ragtime Festival, and the Sedalia Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival. His website is: www.frederickhodges.com.
Danny Coots & Dalton Ridenhour
Danny Coots in 1964 was just six years of age when he began playing drums in upstate New York. Since then, he has studied with Nick Baffaro, Rich Holly, Alan Koffman and Jim Petercsak in percussion. Danny attended The Crane School of Music and St. Lawrence University. He eventually served as adjunct faculty at St. Lawrence University, Clarkson University and Potsdam State University from the 1970s into the 1990s.
He continued traveling and performing with David Amram, Ray Shiner, Daniel Pinkham, Herb Ellis, Will Alger, Jack Mayhue, Speigle Wilcox, Mimi Hines, Phil Ford, Bob Darch, Pearl Kaufman and Arthur Duncan.
In 1996 Danny moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and has lived there ever since. Danny has recorded extensively in Nashville, New York and L.A. and has appeared in over 100 countries. He has played on over 100 recordings, one of which won a Grammy in 2005.
After moving to Tennessee, Danny joined the Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band for five years and helped found the Titan Hot Seven. During this time he played and recorded with Dick Hyman, Houston Person, Bob Wilber, Johnny Varro, Jeff Coffin, Tim Laughlin, Harry Allen, Dave Hungate, Bill Allred, John Allred, Randy Reinhart, Ron Hockett, John Cocuzzi, John Sheridan, Dan Barrett, Vince Giordano, Rebecca Kilgore, Ken Peplowski, Duke Heitger, Neville Dickie, Bob Shultz, Nicki Parrott, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Yve Evans, Chuck Hedges, Warren Vache and Allen Vache to name a few.
Dalton Ridenhour
Dalton Ridenhour has been a student of Ragtime and stride piano traditions for over 30 years. His career has spanned a variety of notable venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center. Town Hall Birdland, The newport Jazz Festival. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, The West Coast Ragtime Festival and the Blind Boone Festival. Dalton lives in New York City and performs locally and internationally with various groups including The Lovestruck Balladeers, Vimce Giordano and the Nighthawks, Naomi and Her Handsome Devils, Mike Davis and the New Wonders, Goodbye Picasso, and Mona's Hot Four. He has a solo album, "Eccentricity" on Rivermont Records.
Dalton Ridenhour has been a student of Ragtime and stride piano traditions for over 30 years. His career has spanned a variety of notable venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center. Town Hall Birdland, The newport Jazz Festival. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, The West Coast Ragtime Festival and the Blind Boone Festival. Dalton lives in New York City and performs locally and internationally with various groups including The Lovestruck Balladeers, Vimce Giordano and the Nighthawks, Naomi and Her Handsome Devils, Mike Davis and the New Wonders, Goodbye Picasso, and Mona's Hot Four. He has a solo album, "Eccentricity" on Rivermont Records.
Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra
40+ years ago a pair of music teachers on the Pacific Coast delved into a trunk full of vintage rags and 20th century dance arrangements. They brought together musicians from the coastal regions south of San Francisco to read the rare arrangements, and the Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra was born!
A staple at ragtime and jazz festivals through the years, the orchestra continues to offer spirited, authentic interpretations of such ragtime legends as Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, Eubit Blake, James Scott, Percy Wenrich, Irving Berlin, and more.
40+ years ago a pair of music teachers on the Pacific Coast delved into a trunk full of vintage rags and 20th century dance arrangements. They brought together musicians from the coastal regions south of San Francisco to read the rare arrangements, and the Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra was born!
A staple at ragtime and jazz festivals through the years, the orchestra continues to offer spirited, authentic interpretations of such ragtime legends as Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, Eubit Blake, James Scott, Percy Wenrich, Irving Berlin, and more.
Stevens Price
Stevens Price is the co- founder, with Keith Taylor, of the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival, and former owner of the Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium. He took back the reins reigns, five years ago and decided that after 20 years it should be called: "The Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival". He is the Master of Ceremonies for the festival where he can sing out some ragtime tunes as well as play them on the piano.
He began his musical career by singing in his church choir at age 8. Began playing the piano after hearing his Dad working on some Boogie Woogie. Soon music was an integral part of his growing up. Choirs, musical theater, concerts. He studied music and drama in college where he met his wife. He frequented the Maple Leaf Club in Los Angeles and grew to love ragtime music. Opening the Ice Cream Emporium in 1997, he brought in a player piano and soon acquired hundreds of rolls. The emporium was the ragtime center of the foothills. The Sierra Foothills Ragtime Society met there every other month until the Ice Cream Store closed it's doors for good. A legacy that Stevens started but still lives on in the hearts of so many in the town. In March of '22 he retired from the Post Office in Sutter Creek where he was known as the "Singing Mailman". He currently has a Harvest Table rental business based out of Sutter Creek. The Town of Sutter Creek will always be a part of His Life.
Anthony Sarginson
Pianist
Extraordinaire
2019 recipient of the Historic Sutter Creek ragtime Festival Scholarship
Anthony Sarginson is a versatile pianist and composer who specializes in both ragtime music and post-romanticism. After an awe-struck meeting at the 2015 Historic Sutter Creek Festival he took up piano lessons at age 13 and decided at that moment he would live his life only for the sake of music and the inspiration of others. Currently, Sarginson studies under the tutelage of Dr. Peter Klimo, who has guided him through various performance opportunities, such as masterclasses with world-class musicians, Marc-André Hamelin, Garrick Ohlsson, Richard Goode, Dr. Andrew Park, Dr. Daniel Kuehler, Nahre Sol and has helped him gain mastery of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Second piano concerto. He was also a member of the Wind Symphony of Clovis, the Fresno State Symphony Orchestra, and was awarded the “Best Singer-Piano Duo” prize alongside graduate student Miranda Barton, as part of the annual Art Song Festival at his university. He plans on continuing his education at Fresno State to complete his Master’s degree in hopes to one day teach at a university-level.
Vincent Johnson
Vincent Johnson’s philosophy of ragtime music seeks to preserve, encourage, and revitalize this beloved, quintessentially American music. His pianistic approach is informed by a wide range of syncopated styles, from classic ragtime to stride and early jazz piano with a particular affinity for the oft-forgotten novelty piano stylings of the 1920s and 1930s. As a preservationist, he has a growing archive of original sheet music from the era and has made efforts to transcribe and commission transcriptions of historical records and piano rolls.
Vincent Johnson’s philosophy of ragtime music seeks to preserve, encourage, and revitalize this beloved, quintessentially American music. His pianistic approach is informed by a wide range of syncopated styles, from classic ragtime to stride and early jazz piano with a particular affinity for the oft-forgotten novelty piano stylings of the 1920s and 1930s. As a preservationist, he has a growing archive of original sheet music from the era and has made efforts to transcribe and commission transcriptions of historical records and piano rolls.
Kevin Gunia
Kevin Gunia is a composer, pianist, and educator. He strives to create compelling works and performances by studying and reacting to the musical past, particularly the 20th century. He believes in the importance of passing on knowledge and experience to the next generation of musicians. He has been commissioned to write for ~Nois Saxophone Quartet and the Boulder Altitude Directive. He has also written for the Ivalas Quartet, currently in residence at the Juilliard School. His Second String Quartet won the Graduate Composition Award at the University of Colorado Boulder. He was the recipient of the George Lynn Memorial Award.
As a pianist, Gunia places an emphasis on 20th and 21st century American music. He has been a featured performer at the West Coast Ragtime Festival (Sacramento, CA) and the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival (Sutter Creek, CA). He plays in a four-hands duo with Michael Chisholm, and a two-piano ensemble with Michael Chisholm and Frederick Hodges called The Pianophiends. He has also performed with The Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra.
Gunia is currently a Ph.D. student in Music Composition at the University of Oregon. He graduated with a master's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Kevin Gunia is a composer, pianist, and educator. He strives to create compelling works and performances by studying and reacting to the musical past, particularly the 20th century. He believes in the importance of passing on knowledge and experience to the next generation of musicians. He has been commissioned to write for ~Nois Saxophone Quartet and the Boulder Altitude Directive. He has also written for the Ivalas Quartet, currently in residence at the Juilliard School. His Second String Quartet won the Graduate Composition Award at the University of Colorado Boulder. He was the recipient of the George Lynn Memorial Award.
As a pianist, Gunia places an emphasis on 20th and 21st century American music. He has been a featured performer at the West Coast Ragtime Festival (Sacramento, CA) and the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival (Sutter Creek, CA). He plays in a four-hands duo with Michael Chisholm, and a two-piano ensemble with Michael Chisholm and Frederick Hodges called The Pianophiends. He has also performed with The Pacific Coast Ragtime Orchestra.
Gunia is currently a Ph.D. student in Music Composition at the University of Oregon. He graduated with a master's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Squeek Steele
Born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, Squeek Steele began playing piano at the age of three. Other than piano recitals, her first real public playing was at age twelve when she played gospel Hymns for an old time revival. Squeek has a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory of America. (D.C.).
As a pianist, organist, composer and teacher, Squeek has performed internationally (Europe, Southeast Asia) as well as across the United States. She holds a Guinness Worlds Record for most pieces of music played on piano from memory (1990 book, p.18). A documentary, SQUEEKY KEYS, about the Guinness record is available on VIMEO.
Squeek plays all styles and genres of music and summer/fall you can see her at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, Virginia City, Nevada. In January and February she plays at Le Bleu Jazz Club, Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
Check her website for calendar: www.goodoldsongs.com
Born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, Squeek Steele began playing piano at the age of three. Other than piano recitals, her first real public playing was at age twelve when she played gospel Hymns for an old time revival. Squeek has a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory of America. (D.C.).
As a pianist, organist, composer and teacher, Squeek has performed internationally (Europe, Southeast Asia) as well as across the United States. She holds a Guinness Worlds Record for most pieces of music played on piano from memory (1990 book, p.18). A documentary, SQUEEKY KEYS, about the Guinness record is available on VIMEO.
Squeek plays all styles and genres of music and summer/fall you can see her at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, Virginia City, Nevada. In January and February she plays at Le Bleu Jazz Club, Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
Check her website for calendar: www.goodoldsongs.com
Free Badge Serenaders
When asked what kind of music their band plays, they often respond that "band" is a strong word for what they do. Having grown up in the jazz-infused confines of Sacramento, the Serenaders bring a unique, and often ridiculous, approach to music. Mixing faithful old standards, unlikely covers of popular songs, and a gaggle of clever originals, the Serenaders appeal to every age group. Especially yours.
Personnel: Greg Sabin- Banjo, tenor guitar, vocals
Patrick Skiffington- Washboard, kazoo, vocals
TBD- tuba
When asked what kind of music their band plays, they often respond that "band" is a strong word for what they do. Having grown up in the jazz-infused confines of Sacramento, the Serenaders bring a unique, and often ridiculous, approach to music. Mixing faithful old standards, unlikely covers of popular songs, and a gaggle of clever originals, the Serenaders appeal to every age group. Especially yours.
Personnel: Greg Sabin- Banjo, tenor guitar, vocals
Patrick Skiffington- Washboard, kazoo, vocals
TBD- tuba
Bub & Petra Sullivan
Many of you know that these Long time Ragtime fans/musicians are
fully ensconced in the ragtime community. They have been instrumental in
legacy and the success of the Sacramento ragtime Society. Petras has been teaching music for many years and Bub has been a doctor practicing in the Sacramento area. They were the founding members of the Porcupine Ragtime Ensemble with Elliott Adams and they have been performing at festivals around the country, Bub is the acting president of the Sacramento Ragtime Festival that takes place every November.
Many of you know that these Long time Ragtime fans/musicians are
fully ensconced in the ragtime community. They have been instrumental in
legacy and the success of the Sacramento ragtime Society. Petras has been teaching music for many years and Bub has been a doctor practicing in the Sacramento area. They were the founding members of the Porcupine Ragtime Ensemble with Elliott Adams and they have been performing at festivals around the country, Bub is the acting president of the Sacramento Ragtime Festival that takes place every November.
The Amador Clarinet Quartet
The Amador Clarinet Quartet, was formed in the Spring of 2022. After meeting while playing in the Amador County Concert Band, their love of clarinet inspired them to connect and continue making music together. Their repertoire includes rag-time, holiday, and clarinet classics. They regularly perform at the local coffee shop and bakery, Choc~O~Latte, in Sutter Creek. Each member’s unique background allows the quartet to showcase various abilities and stay true to the musical styles.
Sophia Rechel is a graduate teaching assistant at the University of the Pacific working toward her master’s degree in music education. She has taught previously in Arizona and California and began playing the clarinet at the age of 9. Kate Storm is retired from the California Army National Guard Army Band. She plays clarinet and saxophone in local groups such as the Amador County Concert Band,
Claire Lillie is a retired school teacher in the Sacramento area. She has been a member of the Amador County Concert Band since 2012 and other concert bands throughout Northern California playing clarinet
Lori McIntyre works as a Classroom Aide for the Amador County School District. She helps with the elementary band program by assisting students new to music in band classes. Lori enjoys seeing the pride in the children as they improve during the year.
The Amador Clarinet Quartet, was formed in the Spring of 2022. After meeting while playing in the Amador County Concert Band, their love of clarinet inspired them to connect and continue making music together. Their repertoire includes rag-time, holiday, and clarinet classics. They regularly perform at the local coffee shop and bakery, Choc~O~Latte, in Sutter Creek. Each member’s unique background allows the quartet to showcase various abilities and stay true to the musical styles.
Sophia Rechel is a graduate teaching assistant at the University of the Pacific working toward her master’s degree in music education. She has taught previously in Arizona and California and began playing the clarinet at the age of 9. Kate Storm is retired from the California Army National Guard Army Band. She plays clarinet and saxophone in local groups such as the Amador County Concert Band,
Claire Lillie is a retired school teacher in the Sacramento area. She has been a member of the Amador County Concert Band since 2012 and other concert bands throughout Northern California playing clarinet
Lori McIntyre works as a Classroom Aide for the Amador County School District. She helps with the elementary band program by assisting students new to music in band classes. Lori enjoys seeing the pride in the children as they improve during the year.
CHARLIE JUDKINS AND MISS MAYBELL (LAUREN SANSARICQ)
We are delighted that newlyweds Charlie Judkins and Miss Maybell are participating in the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival this year. They share a mutual, lifelong passion for pre-1920s popular music and have complimentary musical skills. With a wink to the pretentious barrelhouse hoi palloi, thus was born, “Miss Maybell” who is accompanied by Charlie.Adding to Lauren’s and Charlie’s combined strength is that their repertoire is built largely on obscure songs and verses, happily and skillfully, imbued with life, lilt, and spontaneity to boot. Lauren and Charlie are themselves serious early 78 RPM record collectors. They know, and revere, the details about the recordings of the pioneering composers, instrumentalists, vaudevillian singers, and lyricists, and familiarize themselves with the nuanced vocal and instrumental differences between versions of given songs sung by the same singers on various “takes” and record labels. These are a "not to miss" duo!
We are delighted that newlyweds Charlie Judkins and Miss Maybell are participating in the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival this year. They share a mutual, lifelong passion for pre-1920s popular music and have complimentary musical skills. With a wink to the pretentious barrelhouse hoi palloi, thus was born, “Miss Maybell” who is accompanied by Charlie.Adding to Lauren’s and Charlie’s combined strength is that their repertoire is built largely on obscure songs and verses, happily and skillfully, imbued with life, lilt, and spontaneity to boot. Lauren and Charlie are themselves serious early 78 RPM record collectors. They know, and revere, the details about the recordings of the pioneering composers, instrumentalists, vaudevillian singers, and lyricists, and familiarize themselves with the nuanced vocal and instrumental differences between versions of given songs sung by the same singers on various “takes” and record labels. These are a "not to miss" duo!
Max Libertor
. Max Libertor was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles California. One of 5 children, he showed a very early love for music. Max had some traditional piano lessons at a very early age, but stopped when he was twelve years old. During the pandemic his love for music was reignited when he discovered Tom Brier's modernistic and difficult ragtime. He started teaching himself Brier's music. This "new ragtime hobby" lasted long past the pandemic; in 2023, he was honored as the Ragtime Kid at the renowned Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. Max has since performed at festivals such as the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival and the West Coast Ragtime Festival. Max is not only a performer, but also a composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. He plays trumpet in the high school concert and jazz band, and explores many other instruments in his free time.
. Max Libertor was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles California. One of 5 children, he showed a very early love for music. Max had some traditional piano lessons at a very early age, but stopped when he was twelve years old. During the pandemic his love for music was reignited when he discovered Tom Brier's modernistic and difficult ragtime. He started teaching himself Brier's music. This "new ragtime hobby" lasted long past the pandemic; in 2023, he was honored as the Ragtime Kid at the renowned Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. Max has since performed at festivals such as the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival and the West Coast Ragtime Festival. Max is not only a performer, but also a composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. He plays trumpet in the high school concert and jazz band, and explores many other instruments in his free time.
Virginia Tichenor
Virginia Tichenor has been consumed by ragtime her entire life, as the daughter of Trebor Tichenor, the noted ragtime scholar, pianist, collector and founder of the St. Louis Ragtimers. She studied music at the St. Louis Community Association for the Arts and took advanced training from concert pianist, John Phillips. Always at the crossroads of the ragtime revival, her parental home houses the world's largest library of ragtime sheet music and piano rolls. Virginia grew up with legends like Eubie Blake, Max Morath and Butch Thompson chatting in her own living room.
Her father was advisor-confidant for most of the ragtime community, so Virginia often heard new rags when they were forming in the minds of their composers. The topic of her college research project? The ragtime revival, of course! In 1998, Virginia released her first solo recording, a CD entitledVirginia's Favorites. It includes four two-piano duets with her father, Trebor.
She is the Vice President, and past President, of the West Coast Ragtime Society
Key System Rhythm Ramblers
Virginia Tichenor's Key System Rhythm Ramblers features great Ragtime era music lead by the super talented Virginia Tichenor on Piano, featuring Jeff Green on Plectrum Banjo/Vocals and Lisa Gonick on Tenor Banjo/Vocals. We'll be seranading you with a variety of Ragtime, Folk Ragtime, Dixieland and Early Jazz, from Scott Joplin to Fats Waller. This music is great for listening and even better to dance too. This is the trios first time playing at Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival and we're really looking forward to seeing you all there!
Virginia Tichenor's Key System Rhythm Ramblers features great Ragtime era music lead by the super talented Virginia Tichenor on Piano, featuring Jeff Green on Plectrum Banjo/Vocals and Lisa Gonick on Tenor Banjo/Vocals. We'll be seranading you with a variety of Ragtime, Folk Ragtime, Dixieland and Early Jazz, from Scott Joplin to Fats Waller. This music is great for listening and even better to dance too. This is the trios first time playing at Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival and we're really looking forward to seeing you all there!
Elliott Adams
Elliott has been playing Piano since the age of ten and is now known internationally as a ragtime player, collector, Historian, writer and composer. His extensive collection of ragtime, blues and early jazz sheet music is available to researchers, musicians and publishers. He has several notable solo recordings on the Stomp Off and Piano Mania Labels. Elliott is and intrepid Golfer and a practicing dermatologist.
MARTIN SPITZNAGEL
Martin has been hailed as a remarkable, astonishing, and "face-melting" musical talent. His flying fingers and sparkling repertoire have left audiences across the country enthralled with America's first popular music, Ragtime. Whether performing the masterworks of Scott Joplin or the score to Star Wars, Martin is truly at home on the piano bench.He found success early, winning a Yamaha Disklavier at the age of 14 in Calliope Media's nationwide Crazy for Ragtime competition. His entry, chosen from the hundreds of submissions by a panel of judges that included world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, coincided with the centennial of the birth of ragtime music in 1897.Despite this early success, Martin was largely self-guided until 1998, when he met Eastman School of Music pianist and pedagogue Dr. Tony Caramia, who challenged him to "find the surprise" in every performance. Under Caramia's tutelage, Martin flourished, developing a keen ear for melody, a gift for improvisation, and a talent for composition.
Martin has been hailed as a remarkable, astonishing, and "face-melting" musical talent. His flying fingers and sparkling repertoire have left audiences across the country enthralled with America's first popular music, Ragtime. Whether performing the masterworks of Scott Joplin or the score to Star Wars, Martin is truly at home on the piano bench.He found success early, winning a Yamaha Disklavier at the age of 14 in Calliope Media's nationwide Crazy for Ragtime competition. His entry, chosen from the hundreds of submissions by a panel of judges that included world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, coincided with the centennial of the birth of ragtime music in 1897.Despite this early success, Martin was largely self-guided until 1998, when he met Eastman School of Music pianist and pedagogue Dr. Tony Caramia, who challenged him to "find the surprise" in every performance. Under Caramia's tutelage, Martin flourished, developing a keen ear for melody, a gift for improvisation, and a talent for composition.
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 Isaiah
Our Youth Concert Performers
To Be Announced |