The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will present ragtime/stride piano sensation Stephanie Trick in concert on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Harlem stride piano, which developed in the 1920s and 30s, is an orchestral style of two-handed piano playing that not only swings, but is also technically demanding and exciting to watch; and “Stephanie Trick has come to practically dominate the stride piano field,” notes reviewer Jack Rummel.

A classically trained pianist, Trick began playing the piano at the age of five. During the time between her beginning years and high school, her piano teacher exposed her to early jazz, and the syncopation and swinging rhythm piqued her interest. While in college, it became clear to Trick that she wanted to pursue stride and classic jazz styles professionally.

With a swinging approach inspired by second-generation stride pianists such as Dick Hyman, Ralph Sutton and Dick Wellstood (as well as the original Harlem ticklers – James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith and Fats Waller), Trick was the 2012 recipient of the prestigious Kobe-Breda Jazz Friendship Award. She has performed in many parts of the U.S and Europe in a variety of venues including the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Italy, at the Breda Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and the Sacramento Music Festival. In 2008, 2010 and again this year, she was invited to perform at the International Stride and Swing Summit in Boswil, Switzerland.

Dedicated to classic jazz and the stride piano tradition, she has played with a number of celebrated musicians, including Hyman, Phil Flanigan, Rossano Sportiello, Louis Mazetier, Carl Sonny Leyland and Danny Coots.

She frequently performs with her husband, the acclaimed pianist Paolo Alderighi, making fresh arrangements of songs from the Swing Era in a four-hands piano duo. She also enjoys accompanying Grammy-nominated lyricist and vocalist Lorraine Feather in a show that features the music of James P. Johnson and other stride piano composers with original lyrics by Feather.

Trick has recorded several albums and one DVD. Hyman calls her “one of the nicest gifts to arrive on the jazz piano scene in recent times; and we couldn’t be more delighted to welcome her.”

Tickets to Trick’s performance are $15 ($13 Opera House members, $10 students) and may be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 679-1891, Tuesday through Friday, 1-5 p.m. They also may be purchased online any time at www.fredopera.org. The performance also is presented, in part, with support from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported, not-for-profit performing arts center located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. A complete schedule of Opera House events is available at www.fredopera.org.