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12 events found.

Events

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Today
  • June 2022

  • Sat 11

    PRO in special concert of American music for theater organ and orchestra

    June 11, 2022 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    John Dickinson High School 1801 Milltown Rd, Wilmington, DE, United States

    Concert Program - PRO in special concert of American music for theater organ and orchestra, featuring organist David Peckham

  • July 2022

  • Sat 16

    Screening of the 1920 action-adventure film THE MARK OF ZORRO, starring Douglas Fairbanks

    July 16, 2022 @ 7:30 pm EDT
    The State Theatre 130 W College Ave, State College, PA, United States

    The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra returns to the historic State Theatre to accompany a screening of the 1920 action-adventure film THE MARK OF ZORRO, starring Douglas Fairbanks. The performance, featuring the film's original 1920 score, is part of the popular State College Festival of the Arts. One show only.

  • August 2022

  • Sat 6

    POPS at Pepper Street

    August 6, 2022 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Pops at Pepper Street 232 Pepper Street, Muncy, PA, United States

    The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra in concert – POPS at Pepper Street – with music by Scott Joplin, John Philip Sousa, and forgotten gems from the PRO's vast repertoire of American music. FREE! One show only! Presented by the Muncy Historical Society

  • September 2022

  • Thu 29

    Scott Joplin & the Original Kings of Ragtime

    September 29, 2022 @ 7:30 pm EDT
    Wesley United Methodist Church 400 Iowa Ave, Muscatine, IA, United States

    The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra kicks off its 37th Season with a performance of Scott Joplin & the Original Kings of Ragtime presented by the Jackson Concert Series. PRO founder Rick Benjamin will host and conduct

  • Fri 30

    Silent film program The Clown Princes at the historic Fischer Theatre

    September 30, 2022 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Fischer Theatre 158 N Vermilion St, Danville, IL, United States

    Co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of Paragon LIVE! in Historic American Theaters

  • October 2022

  • Sat 1

    Ragging in Richmond

    October 1, 2022 @ 7:30 pm EDT
    Civic Hall Performing Arts Center 380 Hub Etchison Pkwy Richmond High School, Richmond, IN, United States

    The PRO returns to Richmond, IN for Ragging in Richmond, a musical salute to local composers, Gennett Records, and the Model T Museum, at the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center

  • Sun 2

    Silent film program The Clown Princes at the historic Egyptian Theatre

    October 2, 2022 @ 3:00 pm EDT
    Egyptian Theatre 135 N 2nd St, DeKalb, IL, United States

    Co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of Paragon LIVE! in Historic American Theaters

  • November 2022

  • Thu 3

    MEET ME AT THE FAIR! Music from the Great “World’s Fairs” ™

    November 3, 2022 @ 7:30 pm EDT
    Community Arts Center 220 W 4th St, Williamsport, PA, United States

    Paragon Ragtime Orchestra presents the premier of its new program, MEET ME AT THE FAIR! Music from the Great “World’s Fairs” ™ at the historic Community Arts Center. 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 […]

  • February 2023

  • Sun 19

    Silent film program The Mark of Zorro at the Townsend Center

    February 19, 2023 @ 3:00 pm EST
    Townsend Center 207 W Georgia Dr, Carrollton, GA, United States
  • May 2023

  • Thu 4

    Silent film program featuring Safety Last (1923) starring Harold Lloyd, at the 1912 Rialto Theatre

    May 4, 2023 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Rialto Theatre, Canton 14 E Main St, Canton, PA, United States

    This special Centennial performance of the famous romantic comedy will feature a reconstruction of the original orchestral score. The event will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin.Co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of Paragon LIVE! in Historic American Theaters.

  • Fri 5

    Silent film program featuring Safety Last (1923) starring Harold Lloyd, at the historic State Theatre (1921)

    May 5, 2023 @ 8:00 pm EDT
    The State Theatre 130 W College Ave, State College, PA, United States

    This special Centennial performance of the famous romantic comedy will feature a reconstruction of the original orchestral score. The event will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin.Co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of Paragon LIVE! in Historic American Theaters.

  • Sat 6

    Silent film program featuring Safety Last (1923) starring Harold Lloyd, at the 1917 Rowland Theatre

    May 6, 2023 @ 7:00 pm EDT
    Rowland Theatre 127 N Front St, Philipsburg, PA, United States

    This special Centennial performance of the famous romantic comedy will feature a reconstruction of the original orchestral score. The event will be hosted and conducted by Rick Benjamin.Co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of Paragon LIVE! in Historic American Theaters.

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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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