Concert to pay tribute to Scott Joplin

By Randy Grider
randy@casscountynow.com

The music of Cass County-born Scott Joplin will be the centerpiece of the  “Rhythm &  Ragtime” concert this Saturday at the Perot Theatre in Texarkana.
Joplin, who was born near Linden in 1867 or 1868 and moved to Texarkana when he was 7, is often referred to as the King of Ragtime. The pianist and composer wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas.
Joplin’s most famous compositions include “Maple Leaf Rag,” “The Chrysanthemum,” “Elite Syncopations,” “The Entertainer,” “Eugenia,” “The Ragtime Dance,” and “Treemonisha.”
The concert features pianist Scott Kirby, vocalist Candace Swift and the Texarkana Jazz Orchestra will include Joplin’s compositions highlighted in the Overture from Treemonisha and Rog Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra in addition to works from Conlon Nancarrow, George Gershwin, Bart Howard and Cole Porter.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Joplin’s death. “Scott Joplin put Texarkana on the world musical map, and we wanted to make sure we were at the forefront of the festivities for this momentous event,” said  Conductor Marc-André Bougie, who is music director of the Texakana Symphony Orchestra. “Pianist Scott Kirby will premiere a brand new medley of famous Joplin Rags arranged for piano and orchestra.  It will be awesome.”
In recent decades, his music has received a renewed appreciation. 
Joplin’s 1902 piano rag, “The Entertainer” was used as theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning movie, The Sting.
In 1970, Joplin was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame by the National Academy of Popular Music.
In 1976, Jopln was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his contributions to American music and in 1983, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp of the composer.
In 1977, Motown Productions produced Scott Joplin, a biographical film starring Billy Dee Williams as Joplin.
In 2002, a collection of Joplin’s own performances recorded on piano rolls in the 1900s was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. 
For more information, visit www.texarkanasymphony.org.