From The World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival

This event with a hopelessly long but descriptive name occurs annually on Memorial Day weekend on the beautiful University of Mississippi campus in Oxford. This was the 45th installment but my first. I combined this event with the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri which began three days after the first ended. I’ll report on the latter next month. The World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest and Festival begins informally on Thursday evening with the equivalent of an open mic, but with two grand pianos in the bar of the Chancellor’s House, an upscale hotel in downtown Oxford. Most of the tables were removed to provide additional seating, and about 50 people were on hand. As a newbie, the only people I knew were pianists Adam Swanson, and Bill Edwards. Several others who are known to the regular attendees played, but I didn’t catch any of their names. At this early stage, I did not know if any of the performers, save for a teenage lad, would be competing over the weekend. If they were, some could have used some more practice. This tune-up party appeared to be exactly that. Friday afternoon brought one-hour seminars by Bill McNally and Terry Waldo, and the New Rag contest, which had ten contestants. It, along with all the competitions, was judged by a panel of three pianists—Terry Waldo, Julie McCleary, and Bill Perry, Jr. Terry’s reputation spea