We recently connected with Andrew Greene and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra is “the premier American ragtime ensemble” as hailed by The Washington Post, whose mission is to preserve and perform culturally important American popular music from the turn of the century, c. 1880-1925. We perform Americas first popular music form, Ragtime, alongside theater music, dance music, and underscore classic silent films using the original, historic orchestral scores and period instruments.

Our biggest focus is to entertain and educate audiences on the history of American music during its infancy – celebrating composers of all races, genders, and backgrounds. We do this through our public programs, recordings, video presentations, and lectures/master classes. Much of the general public does not know much about the early years of American popular music – they know it as the music they hear on Main Street USA at the Disney theme parks, or as the music played by the ice cream truck. There’s a lost world of American music and stories that is waiting to be told, and we’re proud that we’ve been able to bring this back to life for almost the past 15 years.

Much of this is spurred on by my own personal journey with this music – when I was a child I encountered ragtime music for the first time, and I was immediately drawn to it. The upbeat music, with its syncopation and strong backbeat, spoke to me like no other music could. I made it my life’s journey to bring this music to others, so they could also enjoy and experience that same joy I felt as a child.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been preserving historic American music for over 20 years. I first got interested in Ragtime when I was ten years old: My piano instructor at the time noticed that I was struggling to maintain an interest in classical music, and offered a “fun treat” if I completed yet another Chopin etude. The piece of music I was exposed to was Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag (1899), and I was immediately hooked. The music of Scott Joplin stuck out to me like no other music could: Fun, upbeat selections, wits its strong syncopation and rhythmic backbeat, and a sheer joy that stuck through the music throughout. I knew then that I wanted to do something with this music throughout my life.

When I was 15, a now defunct ragtime ensemble performed as part of a local concert series. I was surprised by what I heard: A small group of maybe 8 musicians, playing off of the original scores for this music, but as an ensemble, not as a solo pianist. I was immediately hooked, and began researching other ensembles playing this music. I got in contact with several of them, who were more than willing to send original musical scores my way, gave me guidance, and an appreciation/understanding of the historic performance methods for this type of music. While still in high school I founded a ragtime ensemble to play this music, which gave me the bedrock foundation for what would happen with Peacherine once I reached the University of Maryland.

While at UMD, I formed my Peacherine Ragtime Orchestra, and we had our first rehearsal in the basement of a dorm hall. From there, the ensemble grew, and after a few concerts, we recorded our first CD in 2011. Now almost 15 years later, we’ve released 8 different albums (on CD, vinyl 33, 45, AND 78), and a multitude of video recordings on our Youtube channel. We’ve performed all over the continental United States, and we are often called upon to authentically recreate the music of turn-of-the-century America.

We definitely stand out from the crowd: My musicians treat this music with the seriousness and attention to detail it deserves. Musicians listen to the original period recordings on 78 and cylinder to understand the nuances in performance techniques. We strive to be the top ensemble of our kind in the world, and we’ve received several accolades to cement our reputation. The Washington Post has called Peacherine “The premier American ragtime ensemble”, and with repeat performances for the Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress, The American Film Institute, and other leading organizations, we’ve become a regarded group to celebrate this music and be THE ensemble to bring in for a concert of American music, or accompanying silent films with the original scores.

We also use a library of over 15,000 musical selections for our performances. This is all kept in safe storage areas, and are used in all of our concerts. Much of this music has been donated to us because we are known as one of the best places for this music not to sit on shelves, but to be played and appreciated. Several major libraries, including the Eastman Theatre Orchestra collection, the John S. Maddox Orchestra Library, the Arthur C. Ziegler collection, and numerous others make up our library of music.

As part of these libraries, we maintain a collection of original film score music, and have scores for over 500 silent films from 1900 to 1929. These include many of the best films from that era, and feature works by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, Douglas Fairbanks, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, and many others. We have reconstructed the original scores for these films, and present public programs showing how motion pictures were presented during the first few decades of their existence.

My musicians also use original period instruments in the performances. Our drum set is a c. 1918 J.G. Richards & Company kit, complete with calf heads and period-correct snares so we can authentically bring that sound to life. Our brass players play on original c. 1919 Conn “New Wonder” cornets, complete with the quick change mechanism on it to change the tuning from Bb to A tuning, and the string players all use gut strings, which would have been the type of strings used during the time. All of this attention to detail comes through with our performances.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I am very fortunate to work with some of the best of the best musicians in the greater Washington DC and Baltimore area, and I always remember that, while these musicians are paid to be a part of the ensemble, they chose to take our gigs. While there are numerous performance opportunities and groups present in the era, they will sometimes turn down other, higher paying events to perform with us because of the types of programs we do and the overall loyalty to the group.

Many of the musicians in the group have remained a loyal part of the organization for over a decade. I ensure that they are both paid well and are treated well while on tour. I actively listen to feedback from the musicians in the group, whether it is positive or negative, and have helped craft the overall experience for our audience based on their input. This has led to a better overall show experience, a feeling of inclusivity and involvement from all members, and an overall sense of camaraderie.

As part of their compensation package, musicians have their travel paid for (flights/hotels/rental cars/some meals), and I work with our venues to make sure they are taken care of while on tour. Outside of the concert hall, we often have time to unwind and relax at a local restaurant or locale, and these events help to bring everyone together and have a sense of cohesiveness to the group.

Outside of Peacherine, these musicians often work together, so there’s already a familiarity of who everyone is, their performance style, unique quirks, etc.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Because there are so few ensembles actively preserving this music, we try to really connect with the venues and groups that hire us for performances so they regularly bring us back on a rotational basis. In the performing arts market, venues often have groups they like once every 4-6 years on a regular rotation. Those who perform extremely well may be brought back year after year. We have a mixture of these venues in our regular client base.

We regularly check in with the groups that hire us, both via email, phone, and sometimes over social media. We never want to come across as “buggy” or begging for work – we simply check in, ask how their seasons are going, and let them know of new films or programs that may be offered by the group. If a venue has an upcoming milestone (ex. 100th anniversary) or if there’s a good marketable show for a venue (ex. a well regarded film is having its centennial and we’ve rebuilt the score), we want to make sure they know about it so it can be brought to their boards for consideration.

From there, we also regularly post on our social media channels both highlighting the group and our upcoming shows with the venue. We work together with their marketing and social media teams to make sure the program is advertised to the best of its ability, and of course on the day of the program, present it as best as we can. This has led to many organizations having us back on regular tours. They don’t want to bring in other groups like us – they know we do the best at the job and they’d prefer having us over anyone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.peacherineragtime.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/peacherineorch
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/peacherineragtime
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/peacherineorchestra
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/peacherineragtime

Image Credits
Photos courtesy of the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra. All Rights Reserved.