Article from
The Denver Post :

Classical pianist Carol Rankin routinely performs before audiences who dress in tuxedos and evening gowns. But it's the younger concertgoers – clad in T-shirts, jeans and sneakers – who have been her greatest joy.
Rankin, who also teaches piano is organizing free concerts in northwest Denver. In addition to exposing the greater public to music, she has raised money for homeless children who live in motels along Colfax Avenue.
“I've always hated the elitist label of being a classical musician,” Rankin said. “I don't think it's true for the musicians but everything that surrounds it.”
The name of her group, “Apple Pie Music,” explains

“Rankin's mission. “Classical music should be as available to everyone as apple pie.”
Maggie Tidwell, who runs The Colfax Community Network, a program for homeless children, was shocked earlier this year when Rankin offered to perform a community concert as a fund-raiser. The concert at Commons Grounds coffeehouse on West 32nd Avenue raised nearly $440.
Before the concert, Rankin's young piano students had a private performance for the homeless children. Kids have a fairly short attention span, so I had no idea how they would react to the music,” Tidwell recalled. “They were just mesmerized.”
That reaction pleased Rankin.
“Maggie had warned me that these kids had never heard classical music, so they may talk or be giggly,” Rankin said. “I was prepared for that to happen. I was not prepared for that to happen. I was not prepared for their attentiveness.”
Rankin recruited violinist Larisa Struble and cellist Thomas Heinrich, both of the Colorado Symphony, to perform at a fundraiser last month.
At her next event, 2 p.m. Dec. 16 at Common Grounds, Denver City Councilman Dennis Gallagher will serve as master of ceremonies.
Soprano Marsha Ragonetti, who sings with Opera Colorado and the Colorado Symphony, also will perform.
“We have such a diverse population in north Denver, and it's wonderful Carol is taking her time to expose more people to classical music,“ Gallagher said.
Rankin began playing the piano when she was 11. She studied at The Mannes College of Music in New York and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
She was teaching at the Washington Conservatory in Washing D.C., when she met her husband, Mike Green, who lived in Colorado.
Since moving to Denver, Rankin has performed with Colorado Symphony members in chamber music performances and has accompanied numerous other musicians.
“Being a musician requires tremendous practice and isolation,” Rankin said. “It can be so demanding and consuming.”
That's why the community concerts have become so important to her.
“This is such a great opportunity to offer the music in a setting that isn't prim and proper,” Rankin said.