Last Monday (Memorial Day in the USA) was the annual Ragtime Rally at
the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri,
where I am a volunteer, and I was doing my "player piano show" there:
playing rolls, talking about the music, and inviting guests to play
as well.

The show is all improvised, essentially, and sort of "come and go";
it's not something timed and scheduled.  It was a big hit, though,
and I got one compliment that I'm still grinning about.

At one point I had a roomful of what appeared to be high school age
kids who sat listening to the player piano, spellbound, for probably
45 minutes.  I eventually suggested they check out some of the other
performers who were playing, for there truly were some amazing people
there.  Almost immediately one of them replied that he was going to
stay right where he was, because "they're not as cool as _this!_"

It made my day!

Bryan Cather
www.pianoworld.us