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The great Ragtime composer Scott Joplin was born in the northeast part of Texas around 1868 and was raised in Texarkana. His father, a laborer, played the violin and his mother played the banjo influencing the young Scott to develop an interest in music. Scott learned to play the piano often practicing in the homes where his mother worked as a servant. Local music teacher Julius Weiss discovered Joplin’s talent and helped him further develop his music abilities. In the 1880s he moved to Sedalia where he attended Lincoln High School.

In 1894 he performed in Chicag Continued...

o at the World’s Fair with his band the Texas Medley Quartet. Upon his return to Sedalia, he played in the Queen City Cornet Band for a year and later performed at dances and other local events with his own band. While on tour with his band in Syracuse, New York, several businessmen were very impressed with his talent and issued his first two publications Please Say You Will and A Picture of Her Face. In 1896 he attended George R. Smith College, an institution for African Americans where he further enriched his musical knowledge. His studies led to the publishing of two marches and a waltz piece. Joplin continued to compose yet did not gain much attention until Maple Leaf Rag in 1899. This piece became the most popular ragtime number selling over 75,000 copies of sheet music within its first year.

As he continued to create other notable rag pieces, his goals suddenly expanded beyond his capabilities. He proceeded by presenting the ballet The Ragtime Dance, two operas The Guest of Honor and Treemonish however none proved to be successful. In 1907 he moved to New York where he composed fifteen works yet was unable to play any of them as he was severely suffering from syphilis. The last few years of his life were torturous as he became schizophrenic and was ultimately mentally unstable. He passed away within a few years on April 1, 1917 at the age of 48.