The 33Rd Annual West Coast Ragtime Festival
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The 33rd Annual West Coast Ragtime Festival by Virginia Tichenor, Festival Director ime is flying by and the 33rd West Coast Ragtime was honored with the annual Scott Joplin award in Sedalia TFestival will be here before we know it! Make this year! He’s a fun guy and everyone will enjoy him at your plans for this year’s event, November 22 – 24th at West Coast. the Sacramento Marriott Rancho Cordova. This year the festival welcomes back numerous stellar performers! This year’s festival will feature many traditional special events and shows. A few highlights included in the Back by popular demand are Richard Dowling, Jeff & planning are the “Festival Sampler” program, silent Anne Barnhart, Frederick Hodges, Brian Holland, Carl movies accompanied by Frederick Hodges, the cakewalk Sonny Leyland, Adam Swanson and Matt Tolentino who demonstration, the Saturday evening centennial Ragtime will all be appearing again this year. Show and Grand March, the Sunday morning gospel set, the “Youth Concert” and the Sunday afternoon “Festival There are also new faces coming to this year’s event! Finale!” The West Coast Ragtime Festival website at www. West Coast welcomes Donald Ryan of Tulsa, Oklahoma, westcoastragtime.com will have complete details of the performing ragtime classics and novelties. Originally from festival program and schedule, so please check the website Trinidad, Donald has lived in Tulsa for many years, and is for regular updates. an inductee in the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Another addition to our line-up is TJ Müller, a multi-instrumentalist For a complete list of this year’s festival line-up, please see Brit now residing in St. Louis who will be playing early page 7 of this newsletter. jazz, blues and music-hall tunes. He is described as a performer of early twentieth century styles with gusto and November will be here in a blink. Now is the time to make charisma. your hotel reservations and buy your badges. You won’t want to miss the 33rd annual West Coast Ragtime Festival In addition to these two “local” performers, we have Peter of 2019! See you there. Lundberg coming from Gothenburg, Sweden. Peter’s been involved in the ragtime scene since the early sixties and -Virginia by Robyn Drivon Newsletter Editor Robyn Drivon Layout his year we have a newly constituted team of Volunteer Coordinators: John Lewis Motisher T& Lorraine Robinson have agreed to step in to the role held by Linda Kuk for many years. We share the loss of Linda Kuk with the multitudes of her The WEST COAST RAGTIMER is published by friends and family as well as faith that she is now with her beloved husband West Coast Ragtime Society Lynn in their capacities of heavenly, but firm, volunteer coordinators. P.O. Box 13346 Sacramento, CA 95813-3346 John & Lorraine will saddle up, test their organizational skills and prepare for the volunteer care, feeding, support and, yes, herding. Please give a big ‘How- www.westcoastragtime.com dy’ to John & Lorraine Robinson! President Bub Sullivan The groups to be coordinated include a group of strong guys who volunteer to Vice-President Robyn Drivon assist with moving pianos before and after the festival. The volunteers in the Secretary Bob Gonzalez musicians’ hospitality room make life tasty and relaxing for performers “down Treasurer Hal Krueger time” by making sure that food is available for them as they have time to visit Festival Director and collaborate with other performers and take time to relax between their sets. Virginia Tichenor The California Ballroom has a special set of volunteers who manage the stage; helping to set up for various acts and special sets, working with the perform- Directors ers to keep the flow of the program moving as intended, and working with the Robyn Drivon, Bob Gonzalez performers and sound crew for maximum quality of sound. The group at the fes- Hal Krueger, Damit Senanayake tival registration table are multi-talented; they sell badges, memberships, dinner Warren Jennings tickets, and they possess a wealth of knowledge to answer questions posed by festival guests! Seminar Coordinator Kathleen McNulty Now back to those sage riders at the venue doors! They will be ready for ropin’ and ridin’ and Will want to see your badge each time you enter a venue but there Youth Coodinator Chris Bradshaw is more they do such as counting the audience size during each shift, seeing that sets end on schedule, periodically checking dance floors for safety, making cer- Volunteer Coordinators tain that aisles are clear, that areas are open for those with disabilities, watching John & Lorraine Robinson the people in the room for issues that disrupt others, and more. Webmasters Our volunteers are wonderful and bear their responsibilities well! If you think Warren Jennings, Ron O’Dell you might like to volunteer for the festival, contact our website: http://www. Damit Senanayake westcoastragtime.com/volunteers.htm, or drop us a note at WCRS – Attention: Volunteer Coordinator, P.O. Box 13346, Sacramento, California 95813. Include West coast Ragtime Society is a your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. Also, indicate the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization volunteer activity you prefer. You will be contacted to confirm your preference dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Ragtime for the type of volunteer service you can do for the festival and to work out your and vintage American schedule. music. We will definitely talk! Remember, each day volunteers work a shift they have free admission to all events. Ee-Haw! Serendipitous Thrills and Spills Notes from our R.E.L.I.C. (Ragtime-Enriched-Leader-In-Chief) by Bub Sullivan, WCRS President e are in full preparation mode we have the privilege of watching the magic happen. It is our Wfor another great West Coast honor to provide them this forum, don’t you think so too? The Ragtime Society Festival in No- serendipity of the thrills & spills of live music brings up the vember. We are running through goosebumps, just thinking about it. How about you? the tune choices from 1919 to be Last year we had the challenge of devastating wildfires featured in the Century Show and to contend with, this year we also will have some logistical ob- making sure that travel arrange- stacles: hotel remodeling. Never fear! We managed to dodge ments allow for the spontaneity of that bullet this year. The bulk of the ground floor remodeling musical matchmaking that occurs (including Starbuck’s and most of the smaller venues) won’t throughout the weekend. begin until the new year and hopefully, it’ll be fully completed Year after year, we receive well ahead of next year’s festival. Neither wind, rain, fire or such positive feedback from each of a few temporary walls can stop our enjoyment of homegrown you (yes, we read every one of those end-of-festival surveys!) creativity and splendor! You may see hints of the finished up- and we work each year to achieve a special festival and unique grades in most hotel rooms and venues. But through it all, we experience. Could anything be better than last year’s festival? will do our very best to provide the expected musical excel- YES—this year’s festival! Again musicians will come from lence. Northern and Central Europe, South America and Everytown, So find your hat, get your dancing shoes polished and U.S.A. be ready for the curtains to rise on the 2019 West Coast Rag- Our lineup of professional musicians is the secret to time Festival. We look forward to hosting you and can’t wait our success. New to our festival this year will be Donald Ryan for November to be here! See you then. from Tulsa, Oklahoma – be ready to hear traditional ragtime music from America’s heartland. All these talented geniuses bring the artistry of their hearts and minds to our festival where Best Ragards, Bub Welcome Ragtime Family & Friends! e are very excited to present the 2019 West Coast and the Festival to Sacramento. This 33rd Festival will be WRagtime Festival, its’ 33rd year! As a member of the held November 22 – 24, 2019. Board of Directors of the West Coast Ragtime Festival, I To see that ragtime will be kept alive, in 2004, the can assure you that we are continually striving to provide an Board of Directors created the Youth Ragtime Piano Compe- artistically vibrant festival. tition. To provide enhancement, education, and competitive During this landmark year, we have returning veteran performances, opportunities are provided under the guiding musicians as well as some new faces and fingers, including: hand of our own Chris Bradshaw. This year’s crop of fea- Jeff & Ann Barnhart, Martin Spitznagel, Frederick Hodges, tured young performers will absolutely delight you! Carl Sonny Leyland, Squeak Steele, David Thomas Roberts, Brian Holland, Adam Swanson, Martin Jaeger, Richard Become Part of the Experience Dowling, Sean Sharp, Matt Tolentino, and Donald Ryan. “Last month I heard musicians describe what makes Did you know the actual cost of each festival is tens of thou- them play at their best, and it wasn’t a great-sounding hall or sands of dollars? In an age when support for the arts from a brilliant conductor. It was the connection to the audience,” public money is growing increasingly scarce, private support Jesse Rose, President and CEO, League of American Orches- is more vital than ever. To continue offering quality festivals, tras. I couldn’t agree more with that statement. It’s about we need you! you and the musical connections we create together. Your commitment is key to enriching the WCRF and The West Coast Ragtime Society is a 501(c)(3) non- expanding the opportunities to continue providing quality profit, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Rag- events.