Ragtime music, like \u201cFig Leaf Rag\u201d and \u201cThe Entertainer\u201d\u00a0by\u00a0Scott Joplin,\u00a0 could be heard\u00a0being played\u00a0through the open bookshop doors\u00a0of Half\u00a0 Off\u00a0Books, located at\u00a0141 W. Wilshire Avenue\u00a0in downtown Fullerton,\u00a0on a\u00a0Saturday\u00a0afternoon in mid-May. The source of these\u00a0pieces\u00a0was a wooden piano\u00a0positioned in the front of the store, where\u00a0professional musicians from the Orange County Ragtime Society\u00a0(OCRS)\u00a0gathered\u00a0in front of four rows of seats\u00a0to\u00a0perform\u00a0compositions,\u00a0either written\u00a0by\u00a0themselves or by classic ragtime composers.\u00a0Once every month, the\u00a0Society\u00a0of Musicians meets\u00a0here\u00a0in Fullerton\u00a0and performs for\u00a0members of the public perusing the store\u2019s bookshelves.
\u200b
Following a suggestion from Judy Berg, an Observer reader, I decided to learn more about the Orange County Ragtime Society\u00a0and meet a few of its members at their\u00a0free monthly performance on May 16, which lasted from 2 to 5:00 pm.\u00a0Around 19 to 20 music-loving members\u00a0of the public\u00a0gathered\u00a0to\u00a0hear\u00a0these\u00a0musicians\u00a0perform ragtime compositions and discuss the history of\u00a0the musical medium.
\u200b
When I asked OCRS member John Reed-Torres,\u00a0a\u00a0professional\u00a0ragtime\u00a0 pianist and\u00a0composer, about how the\u00a0 Society\u00a0began, he said, \u201cIt was started by our good friend\u00a0Eric Marchese\u00a0long before I started attending\u2026it\u2019s a monthly meeting space for musicians of all levels to come and play for each other, learning from each other, as well as building new friendships and repertoire under the umbrella of ragtime and ragtime adjacent musical styles.\u201d
\u200b
Vincent Johnson,\u00a0another\u00a0member of OCRS, added, \u201cIt was founded in November 2001, as a monthly meeting\u00a0branch-off\u00a0from\u00a0RagFest, which operated every year in Fullerton and Orange County up until 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200bAccording to Orange County Ragtime Society\u2019s website,\u00a0over the years, the\u00a0group\u00a0has performed at\u00a0local venues including: the\u00a0 Muckenthaler Cultural\u00a0Center, the Nixon Library,\u00a0the historic Bradford House\u00a0in Placentia, Steamers Jazz Club, Mo\u2019s Fullerton Music Center,\u00a0 Rutabegorz\u00a0Restaurant and\u00a0Rockin\u2019 Taco Cantina.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur group has met at\u00a0several different locations. Most recently,\u00a0we were at a restaurant nearby, but I honestly enjoy Half\u00a0Off\u00a0Books much more\u2026 Off the top of my head, I feel like we\u2019ve been at Half\u00a0Off\u00a0Books for at least two years now,\u201d\u00a0said Reed-Torres.
\u200b
However, one of the bookstore\u2019s longtime employees recalled that OCRS has been performing monthly at the store for\u00a0at least\u00a0the past three years.\u00a0Vincent\u00a0Johnson\u00a0later confirmed via email that the group has been\u00a0meeting and performing at Half\u00a0Off\u00a0Books since 2023.
\u200b
As to\u00a0why he decided to join OCRS,\u00a0Reed-Torres\u00a0explained, \u201cWell, taking it back to when I graduated high school in 2009, I didn\u2019t really know many people who were passionate about ragtime and also performed it. Being a South Central L.A. native, there were no local places that featured ragtime,\u00a0nor live piano, but through their social media, I became acquainted with Vincent Johnson, who was also in college at the time. I attended Pasadena City College, which was near his home, and we\u2019d carpool together to the OCRS meetings. This was my introduction to this community of musicians whom I\u00a0now\u00a0consider dear friends and colleagues.\u201d
\u200b
When I asked Reed-Torres what he finds personally fulfilling about playing ragtime music, he said, \u201cEver since childhood, I\u2019ve always liked syncopated musical\u00a0rhythms;\u00a0therefore, ragtime really rooted itself within my musical preferences\u00a0(as ragtime is heavily syncopated). Being mixed-race, of African and Mexican descent, I\u2019m fascinated by the deep roots of\u00a0Afro-American musical heritage, in which ragtime played a huge part.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see, ragtime music is a product of the late 19th and early 20th-century black diaspora. Its syncopated rhythms drew from Black folk music traditions of the South and Midwest, while also incorporating European-influenced popular musical forms of the time, such as marches and waltzes. Together, these influences created an entirely new and uniquely domestic musical genre. Playing and composing this music brings me joy, and I feel a connection to the artists of 120 years ago.\u201d
\u200b
He\u2019s not alone,\u00a0as\u00a0all members of OCRS share a passion for ragtime composers and compositions. The Society\u2019s\u00a0musicales feature pianists, ragtime musicians and vocalists from all over Southern California.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s next free bookstore performance will take place on Saturday, June 20, from 2 to 5:00 pm. Half\u00a0 Off Books is located at 141 W. Wilshire Avenue in downtown Fullerton.<\/p>\n
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