The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, February 10, 2022, THURSDAY EDITION, Image 8

The Observer., February 10, 2022, THURSDAY EDITION, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page Text8 BEHIND THE SCENES FEBRUARY 9�16, 2022 FROM THE COVER Ragtime Fridays Join Keith Taylor every Friday for an hour of piano music By Lisa Britton Go! Magazine B AKER CITY — This piano, Keith Taylor says, is special. He points to the right damper pedal where a hole has devel- oped from countless depressions by his foot. “It’s been with me a long time — probably 50 years,” Taylor said. “It has that sound that can only be achieved by thousands and thousands of hours of playing. It just sings.” Taylor started playing piano at age 3. These days you can fi nd him every Friday night playing an hour of ragtime piano tunes at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn Ave. He’s been a mainstay in the local music scene for years, start- RAGTIME PIANO WITH KEITH TAYLOR 4:30-5:30 p.m. Fridays Crossroads Carnegie Art Center 2020 Auburn Ave. Baker City Admission is free ing at Mad Matilda’s when it was located on Main Street. Then he changed to Crossroads. “We rolled the piano down here,” he said. He begins at 4:30 p.m., but doesn’t play right away. “I’m going to start with a music lesson,” he said on a recent Friday. The day’s topic is “minimal music.” “The composer takes an idea and plays it over and over and over. But they do it with style and class,” he said. Then he turns to the piano and plays an example. After each song, Taylor looks to his audience and encourages questions or requests. Some- times, the discussion inspires him to play a certain tune. Like the “Monastery Bells Waltz.” “It took me a long time to learn it, about a year,” he said. “It has a story, but I think it’s best if you make up your own.” He supplies a stack of music books to browse for request ideas. He can play almost any- thing. And if he doesn’t know the song, he’ll still try. “It’s a challenge. I can come up with something,” he said with a smile. WHAT’S RAGTIME? Taylor plays ragtime, which was a popular style from about 1895 to 1919. “Then it started morphing into jazz,” he said. For his weekly concerts, Taylor welcomes both those who like to listen and those who like to play. “I invite and encourage other musicians to join me,” he said. Winter Classes at Crossroads Lisa Britton/Go! Magazine Keith Taylor plays ragtime piano music every Friday, 4:30-5:30 p.m., at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City. www.crossroads-arts.org February Classes February 10 2020 Auburn Avenue Baker City, Oregon 541.523.5369 www.crossroads-arts.org Paper Flower Bouquets 6:00-8:00pm Easy care bouquets for your valentine – family friendly! February 12 Colored Pencil Workshop 10:00am-4:00pm February 19 The Artisan Stone and Loaf 10:30am-3:30pm Make your own bread and the stone to bake it on! February 24 Tie-Dye with NEW ice-dying option 6:00-8:00pm Tuesdays Copper Foil Stained Glass 6:30-9:00pm February15, February 22, March 1, March 8 March March 5 Barn Quilt Painting Workshop 9:30am-3:00pm Crossroads is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm Crossroads in accordance with the Oregon Health Authority requires masks for everyone age 5 and above.