Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival

Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival, Performance & Event Venue, Rockhill, PA.

Founded in 2009, the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime Festival is an annual event bringing ragtime music to the twin boroughs of Orbisonia and Rockhill Furnace, Pa.

Our last concert of the festival starts at 2:00 PM at the Orbisonia Presbyterian Church. Tickets are still available at ...
09/15/2024

Our last concert of the festival starts at 2:00 PM at the Orbisonia Presbyterian Church. Tickets are still available at the door or on the East Broad Top Railroad's website:

Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival Quick Details Date: September 12th - 15th Info: Performances, Silent Movies, Dinner Train Enjoy the sweet sounds of ragtime and jazz music at America’s oldest operating narrow gauge railroad. The East Broad Top…

Today is also your last opportunity to take a train ride with strolling musicians going car to car! Hop aboard the 11:00...
09/15/2024

Today is also your last opportunity to take a train ride with strolling musicians going car to car! Hop aboard the 11:00 AM train with the East Broad Top Railroad and enjoy a syncopated train ride on America's oldest operating narrow gauge railroad! Get your tickets at: https://eastbroadtop.com/events/ragtime-at-the-railroad/

📸 Matthew Malkiewicz

This is our final day of the festival, and our musicians once again are back on the platform of the East Broad Top Railr...
09/15/2024

This is our final day of the festival, and our musicians once again are back on the platform of the East Broad Top Railroad playing great music!

Artist times are:
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM - Martin Spitznagel
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Bryan Wright
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM - Adam Swanson

📸 Matthew Malkiewicz

Our festival musicians are back on the platform of the East Broad Top Railroad today from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM! Included ...
09/14/2024

Our festival musicians are back on the platform of the East Broad Top Railroad today from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM! Included in the mix is a festival newcomer, Mark "Hyce" Huber! Learn more below!

Artist times are:
10:00 AM to 10:30 AM - Adam Swanson
10:30 AM to 11:00 AM - Martin Spitznagel
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Mark “Hyce” Huber
12:00 PM to 12:30 PM - Bryan Wright
12:30 PM to 1:00 PM - Andrew Greene

About Mark "Hyce" Huber:
Mark "Hyce" Huber might be most known for being the bird-train man on YouTube, but his other passion is music. He's played drums, guitar, bass, and more for nearly two decades, and is most known for his work producing railroad video game soundtracks, which feature a mixture of blues, jazz, and good old-fashioned rock and roll influences. Visit Mark online at youtube.com/hyce777

Our silent movie musicians are warming up as they prepare to accompany Harold Lloyd's THE FRESHMAN (1925) tonight with t...
09/13/2024

Our silent movie musicians are warming up as they prepare to accompany Harold Lloyd's THE FRESHMAN (1925) tonight with the original 1925 score! Come out for an incredible evening of films and music - get your tickets at the East Broad Top Railroad's ticket office or online: https://eastbroadtop.com/events/ragtime-at-the-railroad/
📸 Dan Cupper

We have two afternoon concerts at the Orbisonia Presbyterian Church today!2:00 PM - Friday Follies Concert5:00 PM - Clas...
09/13/2024

We have two afternoon concerts at the Orbisonia Presbyterian Church today!
2:00 PM - Friday Follies Concert
5:00 PM - Classic Ragtime Concert

Get your tickets for these concerts either online at the link below or at the door!

Central Pennsylvania Ragtime & American Music Festival Quick Details Date: September 12th - 15th Info: Performances, Silent Movies, Dinner Train Enjoy the sweet sounds of ragtime and jazz music at America’s oldest operating narrow gauge railroad. The East Broad Top…

Our festival artists perform free concerts on the platform of the historic East Broad Top Railroad's Orbisonia Station t...
09/13/2024

Our festival artists perform free concerts on the platform of the historic East Broad Top Railroad's Orbisonia Station this morning!

Artist times are:
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM - Bryan Wright
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Adam Swanson
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM - Martin Spitznagel

📸 by Matthew Malkiewicz

The last artist we're featuring in advance of our festival kicking off is the Grammy Award-winning drummer Danny Coots!I...
09/12/2024

The last artist we're featuring in advance of our festival kicking off is the Grammy Award-winning drummer Danny Coots!

It was 1964 in upstate New York when Danny Coots began playing drums at the tender age of 6 years old. Since then, he has studied with Nick Baffaro, Rich Holly, Alan Koffman and Jim Petercsak in percussion.

Danny attended The Crane School of Music and St. Lawrence University. He eventually served as adjunct faculty at St. Lawrence University, Clarkson University and Potsdam State University from the 1970s into the 1990s.

He continued traveling and performing with David Amram, Ray Shiner, Daniel Pinkham, Herb Ellis, Will Alger, Jack Mayhue, Speigle Wilcox, Mimi Hines, Phil Ford, Bob Darch, Pearl Kaufman and Arthur Duncan.

In 1996 Danny moved to Nashville, Tennessee and has lived there ever since. Danny has recorded extensively in Nashville, New York and L.A. and has appeared in over 100 countries. He has played on over 100 recordings, one of which won a Grammy in 2005.

After moving to Tennessee, Danny joined the Jack Daniel’s Silver Cornet Band for 5 years and helped found the Titan Hot Seven. During this time he played and recorded with Dick Hyman, Houston Person, Bob Wilber, Johnny Varro, Jeff Coffin, Tim Laughlin, Harry Allen, Dave Hungate, Bill Allred, John Allred, Randy Reinhart, Ron Hockett, John Cocuzzi, John Sheridan, Dan Barrett, Vince Giordano, Rebecca Kilgore, Ken Peplowski, Duke Heitger, Neville Dickie, Bob Shultz, Nicki Parrott, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Yve Evans, Chuck Hedges, Warren Vache and Allen Vache to name a few.

Our festival kicks off TONIGHT with the Huntingdon County Arts Council, 7:00 PM showtime, 313 12th Street, Huntingdon, P...
09/12/2024

Our festival kicks off TONIGHT with the Huntingdon County Arts Council, 7:00 PM showtime, 313 12th Street, Huntingdon, PA. Tickets are available online or at the door, we'll see you there! Get your tickets in advance at:

We are excited to annouce 4 classes and workshops in September. Check out the list below. Creative Writing Class Starting on Wednesday, September 11, Prudence Ingerman will again lead a six-week course on Creative Writing. Each session will feature a new technique and include in-class, handwritten e...

Let's showcase another newcomer to this year's festival, multi-instrumentalist Andy Schumm!Born in Milwaukee, Andy Schum...
09/11/2024

Let's showcase another newcomer to this year's festival, multi-instrumentalist Andy Schumm!

Born in Milwaukee, Andy Schumm is a leading member of the Chicago Jazz community. Playing cornet, piano, and other instruments, Schumm is the leader of the widely celebrated Chicago Cellar Boys, and has performed with The Fat Babies, the West End Jazz Band, and other leading groups. In 2024, Schumm was named the winner of the “Bix Beiderbecke Lives” award at the annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport, Iowa. Andy is no stranger to the blues, ragtime, jazz, and music of the 1920s and 1930s. Learn more about the Chicago Cellar Boys and what Andy is up to online at: chicagocellarboys.com/.

Our strolling musicians trains return Friday/Saturday/Sunday during the festival! Hop aboard the 11:00 AM train with the...
09/11/2024

Our strolling musicians trains return Friday/Saturday/Sunday during the festival! Hop aboard the 11:00 AM train with the East Broad Top Railroad to hear musicians Andy Schumm, Dan Levinson, Andrew Greene, and Steve Torrico go car to car playing jazzy music from the 1920s and before. Sounds like fun, right? Get your tickets now at https://eastbroadtop.com/events/ragtime-at-the-railroad/

📸 by Matthew Malkiewicz

Joining us for the first time this year is Steve Torrico, percussionist! Learn a little more about him below!Started pla...
09/10/2024

Joining us for the first time this year is Steve Torrico, percussionist! Learn a little more about him below!

Started playing washboard in 1978, worked at Walt Disney World, led an 12 piece 20s orchestra. Cocoanut Manor Orch., for 28 years in Central Florida.First gig playing drums was early 1980s in Profeser Plums Jazz Band. In Chicago, formed the Lakeshore Syncopators. Now playing with Blackbird Society Orch.

This years festival symposium takes places Saturday, Sept 14 at 9:30 AM, with Dr. Scott E. Brown giving his lecture on r...
09/10/2024

This years festival symposium takes places Saturday, Sept 14 at 9:30 AM, with Dr. Scott E. Brown giving his lecture on ragtime/stride pianist, James P. Johnson! Get your tickets now at: https://eastbroadtop.com/events/ragtime-at-the-railroad/

James P. Johnson, the great American jazz pianist and composer, is best known as the Father of Harlem Stride Piano. His heyday was during the 1920s, and his contributions to American music extend beyond jazz piano to include the musical theater, the great American songbook, blues and jazz accompaniments, and the Harlem Renaissance. In many respects, he made the twenties roar. This presentation will provide an overview of all of his substantial contributions and their continued influence.

Scott E. Brown, MD, MA is a jazz writer and the biographer of James P. Johnson. His first book on him was published in 1987. Dr. Brown holds a Masters degree in Jazz History and Research from Rutgers University, Newark (NJ). He has been published in the Journal of Jazz Studies, the Syncopated Times, the Library of Congress, and written program notes for Jazz at Lincoln Center. Publication by the University Press of Mississippi of his new, much expanded biography of Johnson is expected in 2025. His Masters thesis on pianist Jaki Byard can be found on Google Scholar. He is a practicing physician and the chairman of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.

Let's showcase another of our fantastic festival artists!Whether performing the masterworks of Scott Joplin or the score...
09/09/2024

Let's showcase another of our fantastic festival artists!

Whether performing the masterworks of Scott Joplin or the score to Star Wars, Martin Spitznagel is truly at home on the piano bench.

​A sought-after performer and decorated composer, he found success early, winning a Yamaha Disklavier at the age of 14 in ​Calliope Media’s nationwide Crazy for Ragtime competition. His entry, chosen from the hundreds of submissions by a panel of judges that included world‐renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, coincided with the centennial of the birth of ragtime music in 1897.

Despite this early success, Martin was largely self‐guided until 1998, when he met Eastman School of Music pianist and pedagogue Dr. Tony Caramia, who challenged him to “find the surprise” in every performance.
In 2011, Martin was selected as the Scott Joplin Foundation’s Artist in Residence, and in May he claimed the title “World Champion of Old‐Time Piano Playing ” at the World Championship Old‐Time Piano Playing Contest.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Martin holds a B.A. in Creative Writing, a Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and an A.S. in Filmmaking. This diverse skill set has enabled him to work on everything from a documentary film about polio with "St. Elmo’s Fire" screenwriter Carl Kurlander to directing his own epic Star Wars fan film, Star Wars: Hunt for the Holocron.

Sheet Music Available! https://bit.ly/2JwBqnYNEW: Buy the single! https://music.apple.com/us/album/maple-leaf-rag-live-single/1495957788This video was origin...

09/09/2024

Our regular concerts occur at 2:00 PM Friday/Saturday/Sunday of the Festival at the Orbisonia Presbyterian Church. Come on out to hear great American music, including jazz, ragtime, blues, swing, and hits from the Great American Songbook! Here's a preview of what to expect! Get your tickets for each individual concert at our website: https://eastbroadtop.com/events/ragtime-at-the-railroad/

Let's highlight another of our great festival artists! Adam Swanson is one of the world’s foremost performers of vintage...
09/08/2024

Let's highlight another of our great festival artists! Adam Swanson is one of the world’s foremost performers of vintage American popular music, including ragtime, early jazz, the Great American Songbook, and more. He holds a bachelor’s in classical piano and a master’s in musicology from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Adam has been a featured performer and lecturer at ragtime and jazz festivals across the United States and abroad, and he is the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. He made his New York debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of nineteen, where he performed with Michael Feinstein. Adam has performed at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the Kennedy Center, as well as in Hungary, Switzerland, and Australia. He has worked with such musicians as Toronto’s John Arpin, former rock star Ian Whitcomb, and legendary 1950s recording artist Johnny Maddox, who was one of Adam’s greatest influences. Adam frequently performs at the Historic Strater Hotel where he makes his home in Durango, Colorado.
📸 Matthew Malkiewicz

09/08/2024

One of the favorite events each year is the Music on the Platform, which takes place the Friday/Saturday/Sunday of the festival from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Here's a clip from last year's festival, we're looking forward to recreating it this year with our friends at the East Broad Top Railroad! These events are FREE and open to the public - come on down for a great morning of music!

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Rockhill, PA
17249

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