Happy fall to all, and a happy fall it is indeed, as OCRS has, over the last handful of months, begun to hit its stride.
Having a couple of stable venues, of course, makes so much of a difference. Yes, we're still awaiting the reopening of Muckenthaler Cultural Center on weekends so we can bring our music back there. Half Off Books and Records, though, has proved a more than suitable venue, and Spice Social has said OCRS is always welcome.
Also tipping the scales in ragtime's favor is the fact that so many musicians have made ragtime their music of choice, digging up rare and unusual pieces and sharing not only the music, but also the back-stories and histories of their finds. And with so much published piano ragtime available, the supply of pieces most of us have rarely heard is almost infinite.
The mixture of stable venues with a core of talented musicians has attracted a fan base whose support has contributed all the more to the mission of OCRS to "build back" the ragtime scene as we had come to know it stretching back to the early 2000s.
Our optimism for OCRS's prospects continues to expand, what with the presence of our two current venues plus our occasional concerts at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. We're also continuously in search of additional locations which might be receptive to hosting us.
Here are the details of our next two OCRS meets:
When: Saturday, December 9, 2023
Start time: 2:00 pm (and we’ll wrap up around 5).
When: Saturday, February 17, 2024
Start time: 2:00 pm (and we’ll wrap up around 5).
Where: Half Off Books, Records and Films, 141 W. Wilshire (Suite A), Fullerton, CA 92832
Map of OCRS Location for December 2023 and February 2024 (Half Off Books, Fullerton CA)
For more information about Half Off Books and its history, click here.
Our OCRS events are FREE to the public. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you know who loves this kind of music and has missed having it all this time. No RSVP is required – just be there if you can, and if not, stay tuned for more posts about future upcoming performances. Also, mark January 7, 2024 and March 10, 2024, on your calendars. These are our next two ragtime concerts at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. The performances are free and so is the parking. Both shows are part of the venue's weekly Sunday afternoon concert series, all of which occur in Theater 37. Like the other shows in this series, our ragtime concerts are from 2 to 3 pm. Performance rosters are being created and you can check here for updates.
Since last summer, we've had a total of 16 OCRS musicales, and to say they've been remarkable would be to understate. The latest was in October. Our most recent Nixon Library shows were on June 4, July 9 and Nov. 12. Click the links below to read about these and to get the details of some extraordinary musical events!
June 2022 OCRS Report
July 2022 OCRS Report
August 2022 OCRS Report
September 2022 OCRS Report
October 2022 OCRS Report
November 2022 OCRS Report
December 2022 OCRS Report
January 2023 OCRS Report
February 2023 OCRS Report
March 2023 OCRS Report
April 2023 OCRS Report
May 2023 OCRS Report
June 2023 OCRS Report
July 2023 OCRS Report
September 2023 OCRS Report
October 2023 OCRS Report
Nixon Library concert reports:
November 2023
July 2023
June 2023
January 2023
October 2022
September 2022
