Curtis Peoples has built a life rooted in music, history, education, and service.

From his early beginnings as a young musician in Texas to his leadership at the Ross Ragland Theater in Klamath Falls, his journey reflects a steady commitment to preservation, creativity, and community involvement.

Along the way, he has worn many hats — musician, archivist, professor, radio host, and arts leader — each shaping the next chapter of his life.

A Non-Traditional Path Through Sound

Traditional colleges and universities were not the right fit for Curtis early on. But he eventually found his path at South Plains College in the vocational Sound Technology Program.

There, he learned the technical side of studio recording and live sound reinforcement.

Curtis has long been a supporter of vocational education — having been involved in VICA and Metal Trades during high school. After graduating from South Plains College, he worked at:

  • Don Caldwell Recording Studios
  • The historic Cactus Theater

— all while continuing to perform in bands.

A Life Across Education and Broadcasting

From 2017 to 2024, Curtis hosted the NPR program "Music Crossroads of Texas" on KTTZ 89.1 and KNCH 90.1 — sharing regional music history with a broader audience.

He is a Certified Archivist and USPAP-certified, and his research centers on the relationship between music and place.

That academic + broadcast + performance combination is unusual. Most musicians don't become archivists. Most archivists don't host NPR shows. Most NPR hosts don't go on to lead theaters. Curtis is one of those rare people who actually does all of it.

Meeting Amber at Texas Tech

Curtis met his wife while both were pursuing doctoral degrees at Texas Tech University.

At the time, Curtis was working in the Southwest Special Collections Library as an archivist for the Crossroads of Music Archive while pursuing his PhD in History.

Amber was working on her PhD in the English Department.

They met during a usability testing meeting for the library's website. What started as a professional interaction soon turned into a coffee meeting, then Thai food, and eventually into a life together built around shared interests in education, creativity, and culture.

Family and the Whitlock Home

Curtis has five children — three sons, two daughters — and two grandsons.

He and his wife, Dr. Amber Lancaster, currently live in downtown Klamath Falls with their daughter.

Their home — the Whitlock Home — was built in 1927 and is a California Revival-style house with Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival influences, featuring a stucco facade and arched architectural details.

Living downtown allows Curtis and his family to enjoy the city's lively heart — with easy access to local shops, restaurants, and their second home, the Ross Ragland Theater.

Leadership at the Ross Ragland

Curtis's connection to the Ross Ragland Theater became a major part of his life when he stepped into the role of Executive Director in November 2023.

The Ross Ragland is a central cultural landmark in downtown Klamath Falls — offering access to live performances, community productions, and nationally touring shows.

As Executive Director, Curtis focused on supporting the theater's:

  • Programming
  • Operations
  • Continued role as a gathering place for the community

For Curtis, the Ross Ragland represented more than a job — it was an extension of his lifelong dedication to music, performance, and public access to the arts.

Located just around the corner from his home, the theater stands in the same downtown environment that he values for its energy, restaurants, shopping, and close-knit community feel.

His leadership helped guide the theater through a period of continued activity and transition.

A New Chapter — Stepping Down, Moving to Colorado

Now, Curtis is stepping down from the position of Executive Director and moving into a grants administration and advisory role for the Ross Ragland.

He will continue this work remotely as he relocates to Colorado.

There, he plans to:

  • Reform a band with former bandmates from the early 1990s
  • Pursue solo performances
  • Prepare to record new music

The new music will return to his classic rock and Americana roots of the 1970s — drawing on the influences that shaped him:

  • Tommy Bolin
  • James Gang
  • Deep Purple
  • Jimi Hendrix
  • Jeff Beck

Back to Audiovisual Archives + Teaching

Alongside his continued work with the Ross Ragland, Curtis will also return to working in an audiovisual archivist capacity for the University of Colorado Boulder.

In addition, he will continue teaching at both Oregon Tech and Klamath Community College.

At Oregon Tech

Curtis teaches:

  • American History
  • The History of the Vietnam War
  • American Media Studies
  • Pacific Northwest Rock and Roll from 1954 to 1994

— courses that reflect both his academic training and his lifelong involvement in music.

Service Beyond Performance

Beyond music and education, Curtis has remained committed to service and leadership.

In Klamath Falls

  • Discover Klamath Board
  • Downtown Association Events Committee
  • Klamath Music Board

On a National Level

He currently serves on the Board and conference committee for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections — and is scheduled to become their next President in 2026.

That national-level leadership role — President of a major audio-preservation professional association — is a meaningful capstone on the part of his career devoted to archiving sound and music history.

What Curtis Leaves Behind in Klamath

When you trace through Curtis's overlapping roles at the Ragland, on the Klamath Music Board, on the Downtown Association Events Committee, on the Discover Klamath Board, plus his teaching at Oregon Tech and KCC — what comes into focus is how deeply networked into Klamath's cultural and educational ecosystem he and Amber became in just a few years.

That kind of contribution is rare. It's hard to leave. The Klamath Basin's arts community is genuinely stronger because Curtis chose to anchor here for the years he did — and the work he leaves behind through grants administration and advisory roles will continue to shape the Ragland.

A Life Defined Simply

Despite his many professional roles, Curtis describes his life simply as having always been about music, history, education, and service.

That clarity is part of what makes him exactly the kind of person community-anchored institutions like the Ross Ragland Theater need at the helm — someone whose personal values and professional identity are inseparable.

The Ross Ragland Theater

The Ross Ragland Theater is a 501(c)(3) community performing-arts theater serving Klamath Falls since 1940. Originally the Art Deco Esquire Theater, it was transformed into a live-performance venue by community rescue in the 1980s.

The Ragland hosts touring acts, local theater companies, classical concerts, youth programs, the Klamath Symphony, the Klamath Music Festival, Most Excellent Theophilus, NOIR, the annual Masquerade Education Fundraiser, and original Klamath-staged productions.

ragland.org · 218 N. 7th Street · (541) 884-LIVE (5483)

Thank You, Curtis

To Curtis Peoples — and to Dr. Amber Lancaster — thank you for choosing Klamath Falls, for the years of service to the Ragland and to the basin's cultural ecosystem, and for the work you'll continue to do from Colorado.

The Klamath Basin is grateful. Come back often.