Robert Milne, the most sought-after ragtime performer in the country, was actually a French horn player in two major east coast symphonies by the time he was 22. Because “piano is easy” (his words), he drifted off into playing ragtime and other styles of the era in Detroit eateries and saloons for 25 years of two gigs a day – that’s 35,000 hours of live performance. For the next 25 years his colorful concert performances (over 200 a year) often contained references to Scott Joplin, Mozart, Bach and Beethoven in relation to ragtime. Mr. Milne has been described as a leading historian in the field, and has unearthed previously unknown concepts of ragtime that are challenging to today’s widely accepted history. Mr. Milne is a prolific composer, saying he “hears these things floating around in his head and simply writes them down.” His 2010 opera, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” has been described by a music researcher and opera expert as “the best American opera ever written.” The fact that he wrote the entire 2¾ hours of it in his head (while driving through Montana) became a topic of interest among brain researchers from the east coast. Neurologists from Penn State University Hospital (Hershey, PA), continue studying his “unassuming talents,” which just happen to be abilities never seen before in anyone in history. What it boils down to is that Mr. Milne is one of the greatest piano players in the world and yet has never practiced a day in his life. When asked what he does if it isn’t practicing he replies, “sitting around and studying nature.”
Thursday Aug 5, 2021
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM EDT
August 5, 2021 at 7:00pm
Saints Peter & Paul Lutheran Church 1010 Madeleine St. Houghton, MI
$15
Omega House (906) 482-4438
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