Bob Milne has been called the best ragtime pianist in the world. The Library of Congress called him a “national treasure,” and filmed and documented him in 2004 for future generations.

And yet Milne has never taken piano lessons, he doesn’t practice and he doesn’t use sheet music. He experiences the music in his mind and knows how to play it.

“I listened to Mozart when I was 4, and I could see how he does it, I knew what he would do next,” Milne told the Oakland Press in Michigan in 2014. The story notes Milne “is capable of playing multiple tunes in various time signatures simultaneously — a seemingly impossible feat. And Milne remembers every song he’s ever heard.”

Milne will return to Stetson for one of his captivating performances on Monday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

Because of his unique ability for music, Milne has been studied by a Penn State neuroscientist, who put him through brain scans and memory tests. He also is a Musical Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, and has performed in Japan and before members of the Swiss Parliament at the U.S. Embassy there.

At age 17, Milne enrolled in the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester as a French horn player. One night, after a Rochester Philharmonic concert, he and some other students went to a local sing-a-long saloon. When the piano player didn’t show up, Milne filled in and was hired on the spot. Eventually, he became a full-time piano player in the Detroit area for 25 years before taking his performances to concert halls.

He performs around the United States and abroad, interspersing stories and Ragtime and Boogie-Woogie music during his concerts.

“I knew how to play a piano long before I ever started. Just push down the notes you hear and the instrument will play itself. Can’t everyone do this? …” he says on his website. “If I have been given any ability at all, it is my duty to honor it by trying to improve that ability every time I perform.”

 

If You Go
Ragtime Pianist Bob Milne
When: Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall, Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Boulevard, DeLand
Cost: Free, open to the public
Description: Bob Milne brings endless enthusiasm, enchanting ease of playing, and an engaging manner while telling stories about Ragtime and Boogie-Woogie music with warmth and humor.