At last year's Sacramento Ragfest, I was invited to give a seminar on
the relationship between ragtime's development and the nickel-in-the-
slot piano and orchestrion during the first years of the 20th century.
John Motto-Ros was generous enough to bring his beautifully restored
Wurlitzer Pianino into the lobby of the hotel, which brought the place
to life and underscored how automatic music was used.  I heard that it
was a great success, both my standing-room-only seminar and the pres-
ence of John's Pianino.

I guess, however, that the decision-makers who run the Festival didn't
see the need to invite anyone back to represent mechanical music and
its ragtime element. I think whom you should be writing are the Festi-
val's directors and decision makers.  It's their call.

Stephen Kent Goodman