ADRIAN — By the time Laura Smith Haviland spearheaded the creation of what was originally known as the State Industrial Home for Girls (later the Adrian Training School) in the late 19th century, she was well known for her tireless efforts for the equality of all people, from her work helping escaped slaves get to freedom on the Underground Railroad in the decades before the Civil War to being an advocate for integrated schooling.
And now, when River Raisin Ragtime Revue (R4) executive director William Pemberton stands in what was once the training school’s chapel/activities center, he finds great satisfaction in the fact that a building connected to Haviland is being transformed into R4’s new home. After all, ragtime was developed by Black musicians.
“This chapel, with its provenance to Laura Smith Haviland, is huge,” he said.
Haviland Hall, as the building is now known, will not only house R4’s activities but will also be used more broadly as a community performing arts center.
PlaneWave Instruments, which owns the former Training School property, leased the building to R4. The plan for the space complements the two other artistic endeavors already located on the PlaneWave campus: the Adrian Center for the Arts and the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute.
“The PlaneWave people wanted to have music on campus,” Pemberton said. “They’re all musicians in addition to designing telescopes.”
Plenty of work needs to be done to the building, which stood unused once the training school closed in 2009. So far, new windows have been installed and the front entrance has been rebuilt. Pemberton said the goal is to have the renovations complete and the space open by fall 2025.
“We’re happy to team with PlaneWave on renovating this place,” he said.
When everything is finished, Haviland Hall will be able to seat 400 people and will be available not only for performances but as a rental space for events.
Donations to assist with the work are welcome, either through R4’s website, www.ragtimeband.org, or by emailing [email protected].
R4’s new connection to Laura Smith Haviland isn’t the only historic tie to come the band’s way recently. Not long ago, R4 became the new owner of a piano that comes from St. Louis, the home for a time of ragtime’s most famous composer, Scott Joplin.
Pemberton first became aware of the T. Bahnsen upright piano through an online ragtime forum where a seller posted that he needed to find a good home for the instrument. Pemberton contacted the seller, who ultimately decided to donate it to R4.
Based on the serial number, it was built in 1900, which would put it near to the time Joplin moved to St. Louis. The T. Bahnsen company was also a music publisher, and Joplin saw some of his music published by them. According to Pemberton, only two other T. Bahnsen pianos are known to survive today and they’re located in Joplin’s home, which is now a museum.
R4’s new addition needs some repair work before it can be used for performances.
Joplin is best known for music like “The Entertainer” and “The Maple Leaf Rag,” but he also composed two operas. His first one, “A Guest of Honor,” has been lost to time. His second, “Treemonisha,” has been both recorded and performed in various forms over the decades.
As a Black man writing music in the era he did — the late 19th and early 20th centuries — Joplin struggled to get it published. He wrote it in about 1911, and when he took it to publishers “everyone said, ‘who’s going to listen to an opera by a Black person?’ ” Pemberton said.
In a poignant twist, Joplin took his piece to Irving Berlin and was told Berlin had no use for it, only to later hear Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and insist that Berlin had stolen its melody from “Treemonisha.”
The opera’s score is now getting yet another life thanks to R4’s music director emeritus, William Hayes, who regularly orchestrates the music the band performs.
“Pemberton sends me the piano score and I make it into a 13-piece orchestra,” Hayes said. “It’s an everyday learning experience for me. I get to see what [R4’s performers] could accomplish.”
While “Treemonisha” has been orchestrated by others, some of those versions “are on a grand scale that would have been beyond Joplin’s grasp,” Pemberton said. “We wanted to have our own version to use, and Hayes is acclaimed [as an orchestrator]’.”
“Treemonisha” tells the story of a Black child who’s the adopted daughter of two former slaves, Ned and Monisha, who gave her the name Treemonisha because she was found under a tree. The girl is eventually kidnapped, rescued, and returned home where she becomes a leader among her people.
“It’s a very uplifting story for me,” Hayes said.
His work on the score has taken about 16 months so far. As he does with all his orchestrations, “I take the time to sit and reflect — what would work for the instruments we have and who’s going to play what,” he said.
Joplin wrote both the music and the libretto for “Treemonisha,” showing his capability as both a composer and a storyteller. And for Hayes, working on it has been “an awesome experience … to see a Black man write about the experience of his people.”
R4 has reached out to a number of opera companies to see about producing this new version of Joplin’s work. In the meantime, Lenawee County audiences can take in R4 in several upcoming performances including, locally, the Ragtime Extravaganza on July 6 and a concert during Tecumseh’s bicentennial celebration that will be from 6-8 p.m. July 18 at Adams Park.
Ragtime Extravaganza to take place July 6
ADRIAN — Live music, family events and fireworks are all on tap for the River Raisin Ragtime Revue’s 12th Annual Ragtime Extravaganza beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 6. The event will be held at the PlaneWave Instruments campus, 1375 N. Main St., Adrian.
Admission is free. Free parking is available on campus by entering at PlaneWave’s Curtis Road entrance.
The Extravaganza features local, regional, and national musical talent including the Adrian City Band, directed by Brian Gorski; Los Hermanos, the Adrian-based Tejano ensemble; Miss Maybell and Charlie Judkins, a ragtime and early jazz duo from New York City; and the River Raisin Ragtime Revue (R4) orchestra in a concert focusing on the music of Lenawee County ragtime musician Harry Alford.
Other activities include a children’s magic show, an instrument petting zoo, children’s face painting, games, and a bounce house. Local artists will have their work for sale and a variety of food trucks, craft beer, and wine will be available. Fireworks at dark will cap off the event.
This is the Extravganza’s third year in Adrian after nine years in Ann Arbor. Originally it focused solely on early jazz and ragtime, but after the event moved to Adrian “we decided we wanted to reach as many people as possible,” R4 Executive Director William Pemberton said. “We also wanted to make it family-friendly and represent the community.”
More information is available at www.ragtimeband.org or by emailing [email protected].
The day’s schedule:
- 2 p.m.: Extravaganza opens
- 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Adrian City Band
- 3:30-4 p.m.: 30-minute PlaneWave Instruments tour
- 4-5:30 p.m.: Los Hermanos
- 5:30-7 p.m.: 90-minute PlaneWave Instruments/Haviland Hall tour
- 6-7 p.m.: Comedy and magic show by Gordon the Magician
- 7:30-8:30 p.m.: Miss Maybell and Charlie Judkins
- 9-10 p.m.: River Raisin Ragtime Revue
- 9:15 p.m.: Cake Walk contest and raffle drawing
- 10 p.m.: Fireworks
