8
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.