Ragtime is a uniquely American piano-based musical style defined by syncopated, or irregularly accented, rhythms that flourished from the late 1890s through the 1910s. By the 1920s, ragtime music evolved into jazz-adjacent styles like stride piano and straight rhythms largely through technological shifts in player piano rolls and the rise of keyboard improvisation.

Austin Shakespeare will present an evening of ragtime music, celebrating the first truly distinct and widely popular African American musical style to influence mainstream American culture. In addition to a few songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Ragtime, the program will include songs such as "Wheels of a Dream," "Make Them Hear You," and "Back to Before," plus Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" with solo piano pieces from music director Brian Grothues.