The Ragtime Institute is Back!!
The first three Annual Ragtime Institutes were tremendous successes for students and observers. Classes, lessons and lectures on ragtime music were designed to help young musicians establish a foothold in the art form, and to help more experienced performers and listeners broaden their knowledge and background in the medium. Now, due to the response and enthusiasm generated by the previous Institutes, classes and lectures in form, style and performance practice including hands-on sessions will be offered again. In addition, resources from the University of Colorado’s American Music Research Center will be available for students to pursue on their own. Institute director is Frank French; instructors include French, Scott Kirby and David Thomas Roberts.
Wednesday, July 20
9:00 AM—11:30 AM: Seminar #1 (Frank French): “Rhythms in Ragtime, Jazz and
Popular Styles”
11:30 AM—1:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM—2:30 PM: Master Class
Evening Free
Thursday, July 21
9:00—11:30 AM: Seminar #2 (Scott Kirby): “Blues Styles”
11:30 AM—1:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM—2:30 PM: Master Class
Evening Free
Friday, July 22
9:00 AM—11:30 AM: Seminar #3 (David Roberts): “Romantic Traditions”
Bonus Seminar (Hal Isbitz): “The Music of Ernesto Nazareth”
Anyone may register for all three days or individual days of the Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival Institute, although classes are geared to those with intermediate or above abilities. Frank French will discuss “rhythms in ragtime, jazz and popular styles,” Scott Kirby will explore “Blues styles,” and David Thomas Roberts will present “Romantic traditions in ragtime and related styles.” Teachers and other students who don’t wish to perform may register to audit classes only. Please indicate your preference on the registration form.
Registrations must be postmarked by June 1, 2005 to guarantee a space in the Institute and to avoid a late registration fee. To register, please download and complete the form, indicate method of payment and mail to:
Rocky Mountain Ragtime
Festival Institute
Colleen Vander Hoek, Registrar
8360 So. Zephyr St., Littleton, CO 80128
All registrants will receive a confirmation notice in the mail.
Perfomers and Instructors of the Institute
Frank French, a pianist, composer and performance artist, is widely recognized as one of the foremost proponents of new world piano music today. In live performance he brings this tradition to audiences everywhere with renditions of the music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Ernesto Nazareth and today’s composers. He has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
Scott Kirby has achieved prominence in the ‘90s as a first-rate performer of ragtime and the popular music of America. He specializes in distinctly American musical styles which include classic ragtime, new ragtime, Creole music and terra verde. Whether on the concert stage or in the classroom, Kirby offers a musical experience which is both informative and intimate, educational yet highly personal.
David Thomas Roberts, a pianist and composer, has written over 100 ragtime related piano pieces, some of which are considered the most important new ragtime works in the repertory. The New Orleans historian Al Rose called him “the most important composer of this half of the century in America.” He continues to lead the multimedia life of composer-pianist, writer and visual artist.