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12 events found.

Events

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  • October 2023

  • Fri 27

    The PRO returns to the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival for the third time to present an evening of silent films featuring comedies by Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd

    October 27, 2023 @ 7:30 pm EDT

    McHenry, Maryland. This special performance, featuring Buster Keaton's The Haunted House with its original score, will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin.

  • March 2024

  • Fri 15

    Silent Film Event featuring comedy films by Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd with their original orchestral scores at the historic 1884 Fischer Theatre

    March 15, 2024 @ 7:30 pm EDT
    Fischer Theatre 158 N Vermilion St, Danville, IL, United States

    This performance will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin.

  • Sat 16

    Silent Film Event featuring comedy films by Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd with their original orchestral scores at the historic 1916 Orpheum Theatre

    March 16, 2024 @ 7:30 pm EDT
    Orpheum Theatre 57 S Kellogg St, Galesburg, IL, United States

    This performance will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin.

  • April 2024

  • Fri 19

    Silent Film Special Event: The Centennial screening of Buster Keaton’s comedy Sherlock, Jr., featuring the premier of Rick Benjamin’s reconstruction of the film’s original 1924 score

    April 19, 2024 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Rialto Theatre, Canton 14 E Main St, Canton, PA, United States

    This gala program at the historic Rialto Theatre will also include a film by Mack Sennett and the Buster Keaton short Cops (1922). One show only.This performance is co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts

  • Sat 20

    Silent Film Special Event: The Centennial screening of Buster Keaton’s comedy Sherlock, Jr., featuring the premier of Rick Benjamin’s reconstruction of the film’s original 1924 score

    April 20, 2024 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Rowland Theatre 127 N Front St, Philipsburg, PA, United States

    This gala program at the historic Rowland Theatre will also include a film by Mack Sennett and the Buster Keaton short Cops (1922). One show only.This performance is co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

  • Sun 21

    Silent Film Special Event: The Centennial screening of Buster Keaton’s comedy Sherlock, Jr., featuring the premier of Rick Benjamin’s reconstruction of the film’s original 1924 score

    April 21, 2024 @ 5:00 pm EDT
    Campus Theatre 413 Market St., Lewisburg, PA, United States

    This gala program at the historic Campus Theatre will also include a film by Mack Sennett and the Buster Keaton short Cops (1922). One show only. This performance is co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

  • May 2024

  • Fri 10

    Paragon Ragtime Orchestra presents its new program, MEET ME AT THE FAIR!: Music from the Great “World’s Fairs” ™ for Arts At First Presbyterian

    May 10, 2024 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit 300 School Street, Clarks Summit, PA, United States

    This spectacular musical and visual celebration of the legendary world’s fairs includes visits to the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. FREE ADMISSION. (An offering will be taken to defray expenses.)

  • June 2024

  • Sun 30

    The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra returns to Southern California’s La Mirada Theatre with BORN ON THE 4th OF JULY!: THE BROADWAY MUSIC OF GEORGE M. COHAN, featuring Colin Pritchard

    June 30, 2024 @ 2:00 pm EDT
    La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts 14900 La Mirada Blvd, La Mirada, CA, United States

    Tap along with patriotic pride to Mr. Broadway’s flag-waving classics “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag” – plus “Give My Regards to Broadway” and many more. Theatrical world premieres of unheard Cohan songs, plus pre- and post-show concerts, and a reunion of George M. Cohan's family members. Our last George M. Cohan […]

  • September 2024

  • Sat 28

    SAFETY LAST! at the Clemens Center

    September 28, 2024 @ 2:00 pm EDT
    Clemens Center 207 Clemens Center Pkwy, Elmira, NY, United States

    PRO'S 39th SEASON OPENER! The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra returns to the historic Clemens Center for a screening of the 1923 silent film comedy SAFETY LAST!, accompanied with its original 1923 musical score performed live by the Orchestra and the Clemens Center's famed theater organ, played by David Peckham. One Show only!

  • October 2024

  • Fri 4

    Silent Film Event featuring comedy films by Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd

    October 4, 2024 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Paramount Theatre 125 4th Ave NE, Austin, MN, United States

    Silent Film Event featuring comedy films by Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd with their original orchestral scores at the historic Paramount Theatre. This performance will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin. Purchase tickets online here: PRO at the Paramount Theatre Co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of Paragon LIVE! in Historic American Theaters.

  • Sun 6

    The PRO returns to Minneapolis with a concert for the Bethlehem Music Series

    October 6, 2024 @ 4:00 pm EDT

    The PRO returns to Minneapolis with a concert for the Bethlehem Music Series. This performance will feature music by Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, Stephen Forster, and others, all conducted by Rick Benjamin. Minnesota Public Media host Steve Staruch will lead the pre-concert talk at 3:30 pm. FREE - Seats should be reserved in advance here: PRO […]

    Free
  • Tue 22

    PRO returns to the Englewood Performing Arts Series to presents its holiday program, ‘Round The Christmas Tree. ™

    October 22, 2024 @ 8:00 am EDT
    Englewood Methodist Church 700 E Dearborn St, Englewood, FL, United States

    Englewood, Florida - PRO returns to the Englewood Performing Arts Series to presents its holiday program, 'Round The Christmas Tree. ™ This colorful program features favorite selections from the theaters, ballrooms, grand mansions, and humble hearthsides of the Victorian era. Familiar Christmas songs and carols are heard from their original 19th century scores, along with novelties (including a […]

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Where America's Music Begins

All rights reserved

Pasadena Star News

"Benjamin and his orchestra filled the second half of the evening with lilting, humorous, and even elegant readings of ragtime numbers, a W.C. Handy blues song, and even a Sousa march…Popular music, A.D. 1900, is still going strong."
– Pasadena Star News

Kansas City Star

“This group is like a ragtime early music ensemble, striving to protect the integrity of this uniquely American musical genre.”
– Kansas City Star

Fanfare 2

“…delightfully infectious. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and its dynamic director have found a winning formula for educating the public in the most enjoyable way…”
– Fanfare magazine

LaCrosse Tribune

“The magical, musical time machine.”
– La Crosse Tribune

Washington Post 2

“Summoning both the subtle interplay and brassy vitality these pieces demand, the PRO does itself proud.”
– The Washington Post

Buffalo News

“The results were irresistible. Halfway through the opening Knock-Out Drops Rag, someone enthused audibly, ‘Gee, they’re terrific!’ She was right.”
– Buffalo News

American Heritage

“…the twelve-member Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been touring the country in the ghostly footsteps of the thousands of ‘theater orchestras’ that once played in every hotel, vaudeville hall, and fair-sized restaurant. Few of them can have played with more bite and sparkle than the Paragon.”
– American Heritage magazine

Gramophone

“…genteel melodic lines swim like fish through pure water.”
– Gramophone magazine

BBC Music magazine

“superbly presented….prize-worthy.”
– BBC Music magazine

American Music magazine

“… a deft, crisp, and energetic group…. one of the premiere forces in the reassertion of this repertoire in our musical consciousness.”
– American Music magazine

New York Times

“Best of all, the concert came off not as a dry musicological dig, but as an evening of…abidingly energetic fun.”
– The New York Times

Wall Street Journal

“…protecting an important American treasure…not just be a pleasure to hear but for many a true revelation.”
– The Wall Street Journal

Washington Post

“Vibrantly revived music.”
– The Washington Post

Classics Today

“There’s plenty of variety here to give a representative sampling of some of the era’s finest pop music, and it’s all played with polish, authenticity, and all-out enthusiasm by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra under Rick Benjamin’s inspired direction.”
– Classics Today

Fanfare magazine

“If PRO is not already labeled a national treasure it should be.”
– Fanfare magazine

Philadelphia Inquirer

“Four Stars…The music is incomparably sweet and stirring. And Rick Benjamin, who founded and conducts the PRO, is a musician of wit and sensibility.”
– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Denver Post

“To hear the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra play the compositions of Scott Joplin or Irving Berlin… is to hear the promise many Americans felt about the prospects for the U.S. a century ago.”
– Denver Post

The San Francisco Chronicle

"Ragtime and opera joined hands and danced together in the most joyous fashion at Stern Grove on Sunday afternoon, with a vigorous and utterly charming performance of Scott Joplin’s 'Treemonisha'…the score, superbly led by conductor Rick Benjamin, is a resourceful marvel….For this performance Benjamin…unveiled his new arrangement of 'Treemonisha' for the 11-piece Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. That lithe, pungent blend of strings, woodwinds and brass…gave the performance a lively grace that helped fill the sunny meadow to perfection.”
– The San Francisco Chronicle

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