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March 2024: Memorable February is behind us -- and 'virtual February' is now upon us

Click on the play button to hear Vincent Johnson (Vincent is on the left end in the photo above) play his 'Shih-Tzu Blues' at a recent OCRS meet! 

For a handful of years now, OCRS has used its February performances as a way to showcase the works of composers born in February. That incredible list starts with Eubie Blake, James Scott, James P. Johnson, Henry Lodge and Joe Jordan, and that's just for starters. The roster is so lengthy that a few years ago, Bob Pinsker arrived at the March OCRS with a second armload of piano pieces by those born in February, dubbing the month "virtual February." It was a valid point, and one that kicked off what is now an OCRS tradition: We take turns at the piano in February and feature as many composers as we can, then return a month later to give our audiences even more of same.

This year, our February musicale was on 2/17, and our March performance is coming up on 3/23. In between, we were invited to perform at the Nixon Presidential Library -- and three of that concert's 12 selections were February ragtimers (Blake and Lodge, to be exact). You can catch up on these two most recent OCRS performances by clicking the appropriate links below -- and, while you're at it, you can mark three more dates for Orange County Ragtime Society performances at Half Off Books and Records for the last half of this year.Those dates are September 21, October 19 and December 14. As with our previous shows at HOB, each of these begins at 2 p.m. and winds up around 5.

You might be wondering why August and November aren't on the schedule. As ragtime festivals occur in northern California in both months, we leave these open to avoid schedule conflicts for our performers and their fans.

You might also be wondering when we'll be back in Yorba Linda. As soon as we receive yet another invitation from the folks at Nixon Library, we'll get the word out.

Thank you all for attending our various shows and for showing such enthusiastic support for these performances of the musical genre we all so value and enjoy.


Here are the details of the OCRS meets for the rest of 2024:
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Saturday, December 14, 2024
All start at 2:00 pm and wrap up around 5
Where: Half Off Books, Records and Films, 141 W. Wilshire (Suite A), Fullerton, CA 92832
Map of OCRS Location for March, May, June and July 2024 (Half Off Books, Fullerton CA)

For more information about Half Off Books and its history, click here.

Our OCRS events are FREE to the public. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you know who loves this kind of music and has missed having it all this time. No RSVP is required – just be there if you can, and if not, stay tuned for more posts about future upcoming performances.

Since summer 2022, we've had a total of 18 OCRS musicales, and to say they've been remarkable would be to understate. The latest was in February 2024. Our most recent Nixon Library shows were on June 4, July 9, November 12 in 2023, and January 7 and March 10 in 2024. Click the links below to read about the events of 2023 and '24 and to get the details of some extraordinary musical events!

January 2023 OCRS Report

February 2023 OCRS Report

March 2023 OCRS Report

April 2023 OCRS Report

May 2023 OCRS Report

June 2023 OCRS Report

July 2023 OCRS Report

September 2023 OCRS Report

October 2023 OCRS Report

December 2023 OCRS Report

February 2024 OCRS Report


Nixon Library concert reports from 2023-24:

January 2023

June 2023

July 2023

November 2023

January 2024

March 2024

A word about RagFest: Along the way, some of you have inquired about RagFest. Nothing is scheduled yet, but we continue to work on paving the way for our next festival, and we'll be sure to get the word out as soon as circumstances allow a reboot of this annual event.