The Keys to America’s Soul

Music has the Power to Move People

By Susan Swearingen

Owner of American Piano Music Cotre Swearingen

At age ten, Corte Swearingen wasn’t expecting a life-altering moment at

Walt Disney World. But on Main Street U.S.A., he heard a pianist playing

Scott Joplin’s The Maple Leaf Rag and everything shifted.

“I couldn’t take my eyes off his hands,” Corte says. “I had just started piano

lessons, and this music grabbed hold of me and never let go.”

Now based in St. Augustine, Corte runs www.AmericanPianoMusic.com,

sharing America’s piano legacy, from ragtime’s playful energy and the soul

of jazz and blues to the depth of classical and modern works.

“America has produced an incredible range of piano music,” he explains.

“My goal is to bring these voices back to life so people can feel their beauty

and emotion.”

Among the treasures he revives is a little-known piano piece by Florence

Price, the first African-American woman whose symphony performed by a

major U.S. orchestra. Price’s abandoned home in St. Anne, Illinois, yielded

dozens of her unpublished works more than fifty years after her death, an

extraordinary example of unearthing and reviving music nearly lost to

history. Corte now performs one of these pieces, bringing its delicate voice

back to life and honoring Price’s place in America’s cultural legacy.

Ragtime may have flourished elsewhere, but its vibrant rhythm resonates

deeply here. St. Augustine’s rich cultural history from Lincolnville to

Fort Mose has always been rooted in rhythm and resilience. Corte’s mission

continues that thread, weaving the syncopation of ragtime into the city’s

layered musical heartbeat. With five solo albums released and plans for

recitals in St. Augustine, he hopes listeners everywhere will connect with this

music like he did.

“Music has the power to move people,” he says. “I want them to hear a piece,

be touched by it, and want to know the composer behind it.”

Discover America’s piano treasures at AmericanPianoMusic.com where

heritage and heart meet in our city.

"Loving Our Town" October 4, 2025