TEXARKANA, Ark. - No narrative of homegrown American music is complete without ragtime, a style that came alive courtesy of African American musicians at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and found greatness in Scott Joplin.
Joplin, who grew up here in Texarkana, is an essential chapter of ragtime's story, and his contributions will be celebrated from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday night at the P.J. Ahern Home.
In "A Tribute to Ragtime's Revival," the Texarkana Museums System also welcomes Vicki Carr as special guest pianist. She'll play ragtime music, but the program also focuses on two things related to 1971: the 50th anniversary of the TMS and the revival of ragtime's popular fortunes with Joshua Rifkin's album "Scott Joplin: Piano Rags."
Carr will perform favorite ragtime numbers in the P.J. Ahern Home's music room. She has all of Joplin's rags and will select some of them to play.
Said TMS Curator Jamie Simmons in a news release about the Aherns, "The family loved music. Being able to celebrate Black History Month, the birthday of the Museums and the Ahern family's love of music is very gratifying."
In an interview, Simmons explained the TMS is concentrating on 1971 events this year. With the release of Rifkin's album the year before and Grammy nominations in '71, a revival of ragtime music was sparked for the 1970s. Not long after, the 1973 George Roy Hill-directed "The Sting" featured Joplin's music, including his composition "The Entertainer."
"This will be the first time we've actually been able to have any sort of piano performance in the house, which has always been our intention because the Ahern family loved music and were specifically very attached to their pianos. So we wanted to kind of honor that history by having musical performances regularly," Simmons said.
In addition to the performance, a small exhibit in the Ahern Home library will be displayed, featuring Joplin and other Black ragtime composers. The Ahern Home also has two baby grand pianos, recently tuned.
"We always concentrate on Scott Joplin because of course he grew up in Texarkana, but there were many more African American composers who contributed to the genre," Simmons said. "That will also be part of the event."
Ragtime, she said, never really died but it did go in and out of popular favor. Rifkin's album helped usher in renewed interest in Joplin, including for his opera "Treemonisha."
"I think when people think of ragtime nowadays, that's immediately what they think of is 'The Sting,' which is not a bad connection to make. This kind of touches on what we want to do, kind of reconnect people with the origins of ragtime because it is a uniquely American form of music. I don't think that gets enough attention," Simmons said.
Ragtime, as an American artform, influenced music that came along after it.
"To know that Texarkana has such a strong connection to the creation of a style of music that's uniquely American is something pretty amazing that I don't think we really spotlight enough as a community," Simmons said, noting most of the influential ragtime composers were African Americans as the style developed. Their stories are important, too.
"It's an enormous contribution to the American songbook right there," Simmons said.
This Saturday is a chance to put ragtime in that spotlight.
Carr, who came to Texarkana from California three decades ago, is a local music teacher, author and pianist who taught for nearly two decades at Texas High School.
Carr is now on the faculty of the Texarkana Academy of Musical Arts and has served with the Wednesday Music Club, Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs and Regional Music Heritage Center.
Because of the pandemic, only a limited number of tickets for this indoor event will be available.
(Tickets: $15, or $10 for Texarkana Museums System members. Tickets must be purchased in advance by visiting TexarkanaMuseums.org/Events or calling 903-793-4831. Ticket sales are open until midnight Friday. The P.J. Ahern Home is located at 403 Laurel St. in Texarkana, Arkansas.)