Photo courtesy of Real People Media Bob Milne, a ragtime pianist, is set to hold a concert Sunday at the Keweenaw Storytelling Center in Calumet.

CALUMET — Bob Milne, world-renowned ragtime pianist, will present a special concert at the Keweenaw Storytelling Center this coming Sunday, Rebecca Glotfelty, executive director of Real People Media, announced in a Thursday release.

Milne is considered the best ragtime/boogie-woogie pianist in the world. In 2004, over the course of three days, Milne was filmed by the Library of Congress to document his skill and expertise in ragtime piano for future generations. At the conclusion of filming, Milne was declared a National Treasure, said Glotfelty.

“Milne’s concert tours take him all over the globe, to small, vintage opera houses and to large, prestigious concert halls,” Glotfelty said.

Milne earned a music degree in French horn performance from Eastman School of Music. He taught himself to play the piano, completely by ear, while playing night after night in bars and clubs. He developed a 25-year career as the busiest saloon player, and naturally progressed to the concert stage, sharing his love of music with audiences of all kinds. He has produced 11 solo piano recordings to date, which cover his wide range of playing styles, from the sweet and melodic to the highly rhythmic and hard-driving — all available on CD. He has composed more than 40 piano rags, a ragtime waltz with variations, a trumpet concerto, a flute suite and a violin suite.

“His enthusiasm, ease of playing, and engaging manner while telling stories about the music, and his warmth and humor,” said Glotfelty, “all come together to make him, as he has been described by a member of the U.S. State Department, ‘a musical ambassador.'”

Milne will perform at Real People Media’s Keweenaw Storytelling Center located at 215 5th Street in downtown Calumet. The concert will begin at 2 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30 p.m.). Advance tickets are $18, and $8.50 per student, and can be purchased online at: www.realpeoplemedia.org or through the box office at 906-934-2346. (Please leave a message) At door, please add $2 (if tickets are still available). Attendees are required to wear masks at the event.

Operated by Real People Media, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Keweenaw Storytelling Center helps people share their stories (from Calumet and beyond) through the literary, visual, performing, and media arts. The 7,900 square foot center offers a 2,000 square-foot exhibit gallery, puppet theatre, and 100 seat performance area for concerts and storytelling events.

Real People Media was founded in 2006, by Michigan filmmakers Jeffrey Morgan, Mary Pierce and Rebecca Glotfelty. The organization received tax-exempt status in 2010, effective February 2007. Formed with the mission to help people share their stories via video production and digital media, Real People Media has provided video production classes and a video lending library to its members and the community.

In 2017, Real People Media expanded its mission to “helping people share their stories through the literary, visual, performing, and media arts,” and provide classes and events in storytelling.

“We help people share their stories by hosting exhibit and performance opportunities,” states the non-profit’s website.

In 2019, Real People Media was gifted the historic 1948 Woolworth’s building, in Calumet, for the creation of the Keweenaw Storytelling Center.

“In 2020, we started to raise funds to renovate the facility into a performing arts and exhibit Center,” said Glotfelty, “to include a 100-seat theater for storytelling, planetarium shows, performances of ‘The Red Jacket Jamboree,’ film showings, concerts, and historical lectures.”

The Center is home to The Red Jacket Jamboree, an old-time radio variety which shares songs, stories, history and music from Michigan’s Copper Country and beyond. Shows are recorded in front of a live audience six times a year for later broadcast on Michigan Public Radio networks.