Augie Otto was a very famous, important person in Sandwich, Illinois. He not only ran a large farm, but he spent years as a member of the school board, and he also built steam engines, that helped him on his farm, and he made a train for the Sandwich fair. He also loved music and had a pipe organ installed in his home. At a concert in his home he invited me to play the Maple Leaf Rag. It was written for piano by Scott Joplin. The dream of Scott Joplin was to carve out of sound a truly American and truly classic music, respectful of but not subservient to European music, a racially balanced music truthfully reporting American life, its tempo, and its temper. This arrangement says "Tempo di Marcia", which means to play it as if it were marching music. I've been playing it faster, trying to jazz it up, and just realized that it doesn't want me to do this. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.