Mississippi State University Libraries is hosting the 16th annual Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival and Gatsby Gala March 24-26 in the Mitchell Memorial Library and McComas Hall theatre.
The festival will begin with the Gatsby Gala, a 1920s-inspired fashion show, at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the Mitchell Memorial Library lobby. Featuring Jazz Age decorations and live music, the gala is a collaboration between the student organization Fashion Board and fashion design and merchandising students to showcase student talent.
Friday and Saturday will host a full day of events, including tours, presentations and seminars on music history in the Charles Templeton Music Museum on the fourth floor of Mitchell Memorial Library. Each day will conclude with a ragtime and jazz concert in the McComas Hall theatre; doors open at 7:15 p.m. for the concerts to begin at 7:30 p.m. The concerts will last about two and a half hours.
All festival events offer free admission to MSU students with a valid student I.D. For non-students, tickets to every event are $65. A single-day ticket for all events is $35, and a concert ticket is $15. Discounted rates are available to senior citizens and retired MSU faculty.
To promote the festival, the library will display antique musical instruments outside the Colvard Student Union from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
Donald Ryan, successful ragtime and classical pianist and one of the festival’s featured musicians, believes it is important to celebrate ragtime as one of the first recognizably American music genres and as a foundation of modern American music.
“Expect to be greatly entertained and dazzled by the music and performers,” Ryan said, “This is original American good-time music that will have you smiling from the offset, even if it’s unfamiliar.”
Besides Ryan, the festival features the performance of the Sweet & Hot Quartet, a ragtime and jazz band comprised of Jeff and Anne Barnhardt, instrumentalist T.J. Müller and percussionist Josh Duffee. The festival’s final featured musician, Adam Swanson, is a four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest and will be performing a tribute to Janice Cleary.
Shortly before her death, Janice Cleary donated a large sheet music collection to the Charles Templeton Music Museum, and the festival includes events highlighting her life and music.
Prior to the festival, The Keyone Docher Student Achievement Award is presented to an outstanding MSU student majoring in music. Madeline Lee, a junior concentrating in oboe, was selected as this year’s winner due to her exceptional performance within MSU’s music organizations and in outside competitions. She will perform a recital featuring works by women and people of color during Friday’s concert.
“I think that seeing the history of the music that’s come out of our state is incredibly important,” Lee said, “We don’t always think of Mississippi as this mecca of incredible music, but that’s where we’re all mistaken.”
The last Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival was held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. Lynda Graham, special projects manager for the Mitchell Memorial Library, is excited to bring the event back to a live audience.
“It’s our history, and we just want to share that history,” Graham said.
The Charles Templeton Music Museum showcases a large collection of musical instruments from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from self-playing pianos to phonographs to artificial birds. The museum sponsors the Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival to promote the museum’s collection and to raise awareness of U.S. musical history. Admission to the museum is free. 
Parking is available in the Old Main Academic Center Parking Garage at 560 Barr Ave. or in the North Parking Garage just off Bailey Howell Drive. Visitors can also purchase visitor passes from Parking and Transit Services at 412 East Lee Blvd., at the Welcome Center at 75 B.S. Hood Dr. or online at the university parking website.
Tickets and detailed scheduling information can be found at the MSU Libraries website. Tickets can also be purchased at the door. 

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Courtesy Photo | Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival

In 2021, the festival was held online in a video format. The festival will return to an in-person format this year.