For a handful of years now, OCRS has used its February performances as a way to showcase the works of composers born in February. That incredible list starts with Eubie Blake, James Scott, James P. Johnson, Henry Lodge and Joe Jordan, and that's just for starters. The roster is so lengthy that a few years ago, Bob Pinsker arrived at the March OCRS with a second armload of piano pieces by those born in February, dubbing the month "virtual February." It was a valid point, and one that kicked off what is now an OCRS tradition: We take turns at the piano in February and feature as many composers as we can, then return a month later to give our audiences even more of same.
This year, our February musicale was on 2/17, and our March performance was on 3/23. In between, we were invited to perform at the Nixon Presidential Library -- and three of that concert's 12 selections were February ragtimers (Blake and Lodge, to be exact). You can catch up on these three most recent OCRS performances by clicking the appropriate links below -- and, while you're at it, you can mark three more dates for Orange County Ragtime Society performances at Half Off Books and Records for the last half of this year.Those dates are September 21, October 19 and December 14. As with our previous shows at HOB, each of these begins at 2 p.m. and winds up around 5.
You might be wondering why August and November aren't on the schedule. As ragtime festivals occur in northern California in both months, we leave these open to avoid schedule conflicts for our performers and their fans.
You might also be wondering when we'll be back in Yorba Linda. As soon as we receive yet another invitation from the folks at Nixon Library, we'll get the word out.
Thank you all for attending our various shows and for showing such enthusiastic support for these performances of the musical genre we all so value and enjoy.
Here are the details of the OCRS meets for the rest of 2024:
Saturday, May 25, 2024 |
Saturday, June 15, 2024 |
Saturday, July 20, 2024 |
Saturday, September 21, 2024 |
Saturday, October 19, 2024 |
Saturday, December 14, 2024 |
All start at 2:00 pm and wrap up around 5 |
Where: Half Off Books, Records and Films, 141 W. Wilshire (Suite A), Fullerton, CA 92832 |
Map of OCRS Location for May-December 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.
Since summer 2022, we've had a total of 18 OCRS musicales, and to say they've been remarkable would be to understate. The latest was in March 2024. Our most recent Nixon Library shows were on June 4, July 9, November 12 in 2023, and January 7 and March 10 in 2024. Click the links below to read about the events of 2023 and '24 and to get the details of some extraordinary musical events!
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
December 2023 OCRS Report
February 2024 OCRS Report
March 2024 OCRS Report
Nixon Library concert reports from 2023-24:
January 2023
June 2023
July 2023
November 2023
January 2024
March 2024