Bringing the French Quarter to Severn

During a special assembly with the Lower School, Mr. Royen performed the famous song, “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin. After demonstrating different piano styles involved in the evolution of early jazz, he opened the floor for questions. Lower School students were curious to know, “What was your first time on stage?” and “How old were you when you first started playing?” Our community was surprised to learn that Mr. Royen did not begin playing until he was 18!


After the assembly at the Lower School, John visited Teel Campus to sit in with Mr. Frank Donn's Jam Band and Instrumental Ensemble. The Jam Band worked through a challenging set list including Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire,” accompanied by Mr. Royen himself.

A Winding Path

After graduating from Severn, John headed to American University to study law enforcement — however, after several nights out in Washington taking in the jazz scene, it became clear that his growing bug for music wasn’t going away. In the 1970s there was a big craze for ragtime, thanks to the 1973 movie “The Sting” — ultimately piquing his interest to play jazz piano. After spending one year traveling in Europe, John enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans. He started small, playing gigs at dives in the French Quarter — and well, the rest is history. When asked for advice for our students, John stated simply, “Improvise.” It took him several years to explore and discover his passion, ultimately leading him to his current home in New Orleans. John shared, “Life is not necessarily linear ... follow your passion. Mine was music that I discovered in my senior year here.”

About John Royen ‘73

Originally from Washington, D.C., John Royen moved to New Orleans in 1976 as an up and coming young jazz pianist to learn from and play with the best jazz musicians in the country. He studied with Don Ewell, Joe Turner and John Eaton. He’s long since been a fixture on the New Orleans jazz scene, both as a popular on-call pianist and as a core member of most of the well-known jazz groups. Mr. Royen played for 25 years with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and has performed at the Kennedy Center, the U.S. State Department, the National Press Club, the Smithsonian Institution, the New Orleans Historical Jazz Park, as well as numerous universities, theaters and performing arts centers around the country, in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Canada.

Did you know the Alumni Association produces a monthly podcast? You can learn more about John during Episode 11 of the Admiral’s Club Podcast here.

About Music Education at Severn

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