John Reed-Torres

John Reed-Torres is a Los Angeles native. The first time John recalls hearing Ragtime was during school recess in fourth grade when he heard an ice cream truck creeping along playing Scott Joplin’s 'The Entertainer.' Right then and there the ragtime bug bit him and sparked his love for antiquity, ranging from architecture to automobiles.\

Shortly after that, John began to teach himself piano and continued throughout his middle school and high school days. working up performances of Scott Joplin rags and classical pieces. In 2009, John began studies at Pasadena City College and the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights, where he was finally able to begin formal piano lessons through the generosity of scholarship donors. He has since performed at various venues around Los Angeles, including the Old Town Music Hall, where under founder Bill Field, John also serves as head projectionist and pre-show performer. John has also staged the annual Young Ragtime Masters concert at Old Town every September since 2012. In addition to West Coast, John has performed at the Blind Boone Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival, Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival, Orange County Ragtime Festival, Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival, Oakhurst Ragtime Festival, the Rose Leaf Club, the Jonathan Club, and the Los Angeles Country Club.

John has written ten rags, and has collaborated on compositions with fellow Ragtime friends Michael Chisholm, Vincent Johnson, and Reginald Robinson John aspires to become a professional musician-composer-educator, and history teacher. Being of a diverse ethnic heritage, John believes music is a universal language, a link that connects us all. He wants to teach the history of ragtime to his generation and those that follow so everyone will recognize ragtime's important place in the development of culture and music.