LOS ANGELES, CA - Compose the best piano rag. Win a Yamaha piano. Dazzle your family and friends with musical talents unbeknownst even to you. You just can't lose with the official "Make Your Own Rag" contest announced simultaneously with the release of Calliope's newest CD-ROM title, Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime.
Crazy for Ragtime, Winter's first title for Calliope, is all about America's love affair with ragtime music and American life during the early twentieth century. Cheerful and upbeat, the title will incite users to tap their feet, wriggle in their seats, and finally to get up and dance. "The rag composition contest is just the icing on the cake to the fun that people of all ages will have with Crazy for Ragtime," says Calliope CEO Jay Heifetz.
Anyone who purchases Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime in the U.S.* from May 15 to October 31, 1996 will be eligible to win a Yamaha Disklavier piano by submitting his or her originally composed rag from the Make Your Own Rag section of Crazy for Ragtime.
The Yamaha Disklavier is a computerized digital/acoustic instrument that offers the best of both worlds - a fine acoustic piano and the ability to record and replay performances note-for-note - with its keys and pedals moving up and down, as if by magic. Winter, himself, used a Disklavier to record the digital audio and/or MIDI versions of the 62 classic rags featured in Crazy for Ragtime.
"Crazy for Ragtime truly showcases the remarkable recording and performance capabilities of the Disklavier piano," says Carter Schuld, digital/acoustic piano marketing manager, Keyboard Division, Yamaha Corporation of America. "We're happy to provide music lovers and owners of Crazy for Ragtime with an opportunity to win their own Disklavier."
The revolutionary and beautiful upright piano (retail value of $15,000) will be delivered in December 1996 to the person with the best rag composition. In addition to the Grand Prize winner, three First Prize winners will be awarded a cashier's check for $100 and 25 Second Prize winners will win a limited-edition "Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime" T-shirt.
Rag submissions will be reviewed and winners will be selected by Calliope President Robert Winter; world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman; leading authority on ragtime music, Max Morath; and Carter Schuld from Yamaha Corporation of America.
Details on how to enter, an entry form, a floppy disc for the rag submission, a return envelope, as well as judging criteria, contest rules and regulations are all included inside Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime product boxes identified with a "Make Your Own Rag" contest sticker.
Crazy for Ragtime is available now in retail stores such as Borders Book & Music and Egghead Software, to name a few. Consumers can order the CD-ROM directly by calling (800) 617-2541. The single hybrid CD-ROM plays on both Windows and Macintosh computers. Suggested retail is $49.95.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Calliope Media is an independently held company co-founded by businessman Heifetz and Winter in 1994. The company publishes and distributes interactive multimedia software titles for the consumer market. Calliope's titles feature originally authored programs in the arts, entertainment and humanities that focus on combining intellectually stimulating content with entertaining interactive design. Calliope's first title, "ScruTiny in the Great Round," won the 1996 MILIA d'Or Grand Prix. Calliope's World Wide Web site for more information or to order Calliope product is http://www.calliope.com.
*Contestants under 18 years of age must have their entries co-signed by a parent or guardian. The "Make Your Own Rag" contest is open to U.S. Residents, except employees of Calliope Media, LP, Yamaha Corporation of America and Maxis, and any members of their immediate families. The "Make Your Own Rag" contest is void where prohibited by law. Any tax obligations are the sole responsibility of winners.
