A-one and a-two...

The first performer took to the piano in front of an appreciative — and larger-than-usual — crowd at State Fair Community College, where the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival kicked off Wednesday.

Sue Keller, artistic director for the festival, was the first player to tickle the ivories again this year. She kicked off the first set of the weekend with the festival’s theme tune, “Pleasant Moments,” a waltz.

“It’s fairly easy, so you’ll probably hear a lot of them, unlike last year when the theme rag was one of the hardest Scott Joplin had ever written,” she told the about 80 audience members.

Keller moved through “Strenuous Life,” written by Joplin in 1901 in response to a speech by Teddy Roosevelt, to 1909’s “Country Club,” while audience members tapped fingers on tables and feet on the floor.

Charles Johnson’s “Crazy Bone” and Feliz Arndt’s 1915 song “Nola” completed her set. Keller played the last song in memory of her mother, also a pianist.

“Nola” was her mother’s favorite song, so Keller joked she had better play it well.

“Some people ask me what’s going through your mind when you’re up here playing. The piece better be the only thing going through your mind, or else things can go very sour very quickly,” she said.

The room filled up with ragtime fans — and a few students drawn in by the music — during the first show of the festival, which runs through Sunday at various free and ticketed venues around Sedalia.

Students Emily Burchett, of Knob Noster, and Kadey Exendine, of Lincoln, had never been to the festival when they stopped to hear the music.

“I’ve always enjoyed ragtime,” said Exendine.

“I just kind of came out of class, saw it here and stopped,” said Burchett.

Other audience members come back year after year.

Sedalia resident Barbara Schulz was on hand to explore the first morning of the festival. She volunteers with the event, but was there Wednesday to enjoy the music.

“I just thought, this festival has so much free stuff, it’s worth coming just for that,” she said. She will volunteer at several events Friday.
Keller, who will be in four concerts and run eight over the course of the festival, doesn’t have an elaborate pre-performance routine.

“For a show like this, I just try to remember what I’m playing and remember to get out of bed. That’s always a good thing,” she said.
Though the official kickoff concert for the festival occurred Wednesday afternoon, the crowd for the first players Wednesday was much larger than in years past.

Keller has played first at the festival for the past six or seven years, and said in years past, the crowd has been much smaller.
“It’s starting to get around” that there are performances Wednesday too, she said.

Playing first is a pleasure for Keller.

“I get to play the theme rag before anybody else,” she said.