Rags to Riches
2026-02-24 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | Seven Hills Church, 7300 Turway Rd., Florence, KY, 41042, United States
“Rags to Riches” with the Newport Ragtime Band
The Roots of America’s Musical Heritage (Grades 6-12)
7Hills Church, Florence, KY,
10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026
Video access available to schools through May 29, 2026
**Free. Registration required **
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Celebrate Black History Month with this exceptional cross-curricular opportunity. A performance and slide show by the KSO’s Newport Ragtime Band surveys the roots of American musical heritage. The program features ragtime, blues, Dixieland and early jazz from 1898-1933, with tunes by legendary black musicians/composers Scott Joplin, James Reese Europe, W.C. Handy, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and others. The program also highlights many local Cincinnati connections to this music’s national popularity and historical significance. The Q & A session at the end of the concert allows students and teachers the opportunity to ask questions of any musician on-stage.
Funds for buses may be available through ArtsWave — please click here to download an application and additional information.
Admission is free but registration is required.
On the Program:
Just a Closer Walk With Thee ………………Traditional
Entertainer…………………………………….Scott Joplin
St. Louis Blues………………………………..W.C. Handy
Queen Rag……………………………………..Floyd Willis
Dark Town Strutters’ Ball………………..Shelton Brooks (Kathy Wade)
Castle Walk…………………………James Reese Europe
Black Bottom Stomp…………………..Jelly Roll Morton
Honeysuckle Rose……………………………..Fats Waller (Kathy Wade)
Weary Blues……………………………….Artie Matthews
* Q & A *
When the Saints go Marching In…………..Traditional

The 2025-26 Education Series is supported in part by grants from the Charles H. Dater Foundation, Nellie Leaman Taft Foundation, Duke Energy Foundation, Maxwell C. Weaver Foundation and the William P. Anderson Foundation.
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Teacher Quotes:
“This KSO program continues to offer not only Jazz history, but Cincinnati music history as well…KSO fills gaps by providing an additional voice and explanation beyond the teacher.” – Michael W., Withrow University H.S.
“Very well organized; quality of performance was excellent! Loved the powerpoint.” — Berna T., Bowling Middle School
“I felt the choice of pieces was wonderful, making the students aware of composers and songs they might not already know. The quality of the musicians was excellent. The slide show was a great addition with interesting facts that made the composers and the time period more relevant.” — Kris V., Corryville Catholic

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Art & Anxiety
2026-03-21 19:30 - 22:00 | Greaves Concert Hall, Fine Arts Center, 1 Louie B Nunn Dr, Highland Heights, KY, 41076, United States
(Societal and Political Storm & Stress of the 1760s-70s)

7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, 2026
Greaves Concert Hall, NKU

With clouds of war and revolution gathering in Europe and the American colonies in the mid-1700s, art, literature, theater and music moved to reject the Enlightenment ideal of rational order. The resulting period reflecting society’s anxiety came to be known as Sturm und Drang – German for storm and stress. KSO associate conductor Thomas Consolo leads this cauldron of musical toil and trouble from the 1760s and ’70s

On the Program

Christoph Willibald Gluck

“Dance of the Furies”

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Symphony in B minor, H. 661

Luigi Boccherini

Symphony in D Minor, La Casa del Diavolo

Joseph Haydn

Symphony No. 39 in G minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Symphony No. 25 in G minor

Single Tickets —
– A seats: $35
– B seats: $27
– C seats: $19
– Children (18 and under): 50% off
– Ticket sales subject to processing and handling: $1.50 per ticket plus credit card merchant fee 3.5%. Mailing an additional $1.15 if requested.
Single Tickets

Virtual Pass
Processing and handling for on-line purchase: 3.5% credit card fee plus $1.50 web service fee.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
2026-05-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Greaves Concert Hall, Fine Arts Center, 1 Louie B Nunn Dr, Highland Heights, KY, 41076, United States
(An evening of Simon & Garfunkel)

7:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, 2026
Greaves Concert Hall, NKU

In 1965, the duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel parlayed their new folk/pop sound, featuring poetic lyrics, beautiful melodies and vocal harmonies, to become one of the biggest acts of the 1960s. Josh Steele, Zack Steele and Adam Wheeler supply the vocals to hits spanning the 1960s through the ’80s.
Enjoy “Mrs. Robinson” and “Scarborough Fair” to “My Little Town” and “Me and Julio” to “Cecilia” and “Still Crazy” and many more. Enjoy an entire evening of arrangements adapted by KSO arranger, Terry LaBolt.

Mrs. Robinson

Kodachrome

Disney Girls
The Boxer

Slip Sliding Away
I Only Have Eyes for You

You Can Call Me Al
Homeward Bound

Breakaway
Me and Julio (Down by the Schoolyard)

Cecilia
Scarborough Fair

I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will be Forever)
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Same Old Tears on a New Background

Still Crazy
Bridge Over Troubled Water

My Little Town
The Sound of Silence

Single Tickets

– A seats: $35
– B seats: $27
– C seats: $19
– Children (ages 6-18): 50% off
(Out of respect to patrons/musicians, children 0-5 are not admitted)
– Ticket sales subject to processing and handling: $1.50 per ticket plus credit card merchant fee 3.5%. Mailing an additional $1.15 if requested.
Buy Tickets

Buy Virtual Pass
