RagFest
2017 presents some of the finest ragtime performers
west of the Mississippi! Orsi
is a veteran ragtime pianist with energy to spare and a resume
that includes 10 years as a Disneyland pianist at Coke Corner.
Recent college grad Rotolo plays an eclectic mix of selections
from Joplin to Jolson, Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller –
multiple genres that include ragtime, honky-tonk, boogie, and
blues. Tom Marion and his
Ragtime String Trio debuted at RagFest 2013, and the
group returns to Fullerton by popular demand. Pianist
Bill Mitchell, the only ragtime performer to anchor all 13 RagFests
to date (aside, of course, from the event’s founder), is
joined by banjo player par excellence Jimmy Green.
If you love vocal ragtime, you’ll be
delighted by the vaudeville team of Evans &
Rogers, featuring Sharon Evans and Rick Rogers.
Ragtime vocalist Erika C. Miller has become a festival favorite
and is back again for her 13th RagFest.This year’s roster
has no shortage of solo pianists – and in addition to playing
piano, Orsi, Andrew Barrett, Vincent Johnson, Brad Kay and Eric
Marchese are also talented composers of contemporary ragtime piano
music. After the first RagFest was a success, Kay was invited
to appear at the second festival a year later (fall 2001) and
has been at every RagFest ever since.
Gary Rametta, John Reed-Torres and Ryan Wishner – each of
whom made his RagFest debut at last year’s festival –
will each deliver a set of solo piano. And no RagFest would be
complete without Doug Haise, who splits his time between the upper
Midwest (his native Wisconsin as well as Indiana) and Southern
California and has a sizable repertoire (800+ selections).
If you’ve been to RagFests past,
you’ll want to be at Steamers on both days, each
of which features a unique lineup (you’ll find
the schedule on our home page). Here are the
performers for RagFest 2015. Click on the links to see more
information: Andrew Barrett,
piano, washboard, drums Evans
& Rogers, vaudevillians Michael Chisholm,
piano David Elsenbroich, stringed
instruments Jimmy Green, banjo
Doug Haise,
piano Johnny Hodges, piano
Vincent
Johnson, piano Brad Kay, piano, cornet
Paul Orsi,
piano Bob Pinsker, piano, violin
Eric Marchese,
piano
Ryan Wishner,
piano While not a
ragtime musical performer, Storm Case often captures
the moment with his visual artwork. See some examples
here. |