Downtown Music at Grace Free Concert: Wednesday, May 1, 12:00 to 1:00 PM: The Rise of Ragtime: The Evolution of an American Art Form (1895-1920).

The Rise of Ragtime: The Evolution of an American Art Form (1895-1920).  Peter Muir returns with a lecture recital that traces the spectacular rise of ragtime in American culture and charts its musical development throughout the first two decades of the twentieth century. Topics include: the emergence of ragtime from the cakewalk in the late 1890s; Scott Joplin and the “classic” ragtime style; ragtime songs; advanced ragtime of the 1910s; and the transformation of ragtime into jazz c. 1917. A virtuoso, in-depth look at this most American musical phenomenon, with works by Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton and many others.