Ragtime Sunday at Grace Methodist

SAINT AUGUSTINE – Bob Milne, described as the master of ragtime and boogie-woogie piano, will be featured at 3 [/,/ Kam/ 12 at Grace United Methodist Church, 8 Carrera St.

A freewill offering will be accepted. Suggested donation is $10.\

Milne wass documented by the Library of Congress in 2004 and declared to be “a National Treasure.”

He grew up in symphony orchestras starting in the 3rd grade, becoming a French horn player at age 12. He played in a professional orchestra starting in the 10th grade. Bob then attended the Eastman School of Music and became Ass’t 1st horn in the Rochester (NY) Philharmonic at age 19. He retired from horn playing at age 22 to pursue all the opportunities being thrown at him to play the piano. Before becoming a concert artist it was estimated he played 35,000 hours in the Detroit area in various establishments, music festivals all over the country, and more.

He became a Musical Ambassador for the United States for six years, touring widely in Japan, Okinawa, Hokkaido, Switzerland, and more.

He plays up to 250 performances a year across the United States and world and has played “command performances” for presidents, foreign dignitaries, members of congress, and more.

His performances are fun, informational (he always tells a little background on everything he plays), and of course include unbelievable piano playing.

Bob’s “unusual memory” has been studied by the Penn State Neurology Hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania, for now over nine years. He is able to “see and hear” up to four symphonies at once sitting on a stage in his mind. Tests proved he could follow every note in each of them simultaneously. The Radiolab program “A Four Track Mind” featured this study in 2011. The show is still running.

He often lectures at colleges and universities during his tours.

Visit Bob’s website for more information: www.bobmilne.com

Bob lives and resides in Lapeer, Michigan but enjoys wintering in Florida. He says, “Like the birds that migrate all over the world, I always return home to the same nest.”