Ragtime pianist Reginald R. Robinson performing in Arlington Heights

Internationally famous ragtime scholar and pianist Reginald R. Robinson will present a concert and conversation at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at Forest View Educational Center Theater, 2121 S. Goebbert Road in Arlington Heights.

Robinson, 43, a Chicago native, is a largely self-taught scholar and performer of ragtime music who was raised by working class parents, living for many years in the Henry Horner public housing project on Chicago's South Side.

In 1984, Robinson started listening to big band jazz recordings on Chuck Shaden's old-time radio shows. He discovered ragtime in 1986 when composer/trumpeter Orbert Davis visited his school with a group called From Bach to Bebop Through Urban Gateways. The program included Scott Joplin's famous rag "The Entertainer," which inspired Robinson to begin teaching himself piano.

In 1988, Robinson took a few piano and sight reading lessons at the American Conservatory of Music and at Field's Piano & Organ in Chicago, focusing intently on the intricacies of ragtime piano.

In 1989, Robinson began composing ragtime pieces and, in 1992, he made his first public performance at the Green Mill. The following year, he released his first record, "The Strong Man," followed by "Sounds in Silhouette" (1994) and "Euphonic Sounds" (1998). In 2004, Robinson was awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur "genius" Award, which he used to finance "Man Out Of Time" (2006).

He has scored original music for plays and films, and continues to research and bring back ragtime compositions from the late 19th and early 20th century.

The concert is presented by the Northwest Suburban Community Concert Association, in partnership with District 214 Community Education. Tickets are $20 at the door, www.nscommunityconcerts.org or (847) 718-7702. Children in grades K-12 are free with a paying adult.