Stanley Stern and Richard Webb
Los Osos, California
 Updated 5/21/2010

Stanley Stern is a graduate of Brooklyn College and USC. He was the music director for a professional touring children's theater group. He was also a founding member of UCLA's Piano for Two group, and West LA's Piano Quartet for eight-hand piano music. Stanley now runs several musical events in the Central Coast such as the annual Boatzart Music on the Water Festival, and the Ponomen Musical Lecture Series featuring music influenced by Jewish composers, performers or conductors.

Richard Webb is an artisan bread baker and owns a small bakery that is open one day a week. When Stanley found out that Richard is a pianist and loves old jazz, especially Ragtime songs and dances, he asked him to join in playing duets . They practiced and soon became so good that the people in the town wanted to hear them play. So they started performing at cafes, coffee shops, churches, house concerts, retirement and nursing homes and dances . Their repertoire grew to include many Ragtime dances, as well as swing music, and especially music from the Broadway shows of Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, and others. Recently they made a CD of music chosen because it reflects the beauty and personality of California's Central Coast. It is called: " Suite for the Back Bay."

Click here to hear Stanly Stern and Richard Webb in a piano duet playing Rocherolle's Royal Street Rag.

Note: Stanley has played for dance instruction at the West Coast Ragtime Festival for the past seven years, but his usual partner, Nancy Piver, is making a special trip to Morocco and Egypt and can't be in Sacramento in 2010. Richard volunteered to play so dance instruction will still have the benefit of live music. Stanley and Richard hope to have a session of nothing but Tango music at the Festival so dancers can try out their Tango steps without stopping for instruction.