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The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra presents Scott Joplin and other ragtime artists at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, on the Oconomowoc Arts Center’s Neudecker stage.

March 9, 2016

Lake Country Now

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra presents "Scott Joplin and the Original Kings of Ragtime" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, on the Oconomowoc Arts Center's Neudecker Main Stage.

Join conductor Rick Benjamin and the 12-piece Paragon Ragtime Orchestra as they take the audience back to the early 20th century and the jaunty rhythms of early jazz music known as ragtime. The program will feature ragtime writers Scott Joplin and his rivals.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been touring the country and abroad, recreating America's original music in the ghostly footsteps of the thousands of theater orchestras that once played in every hotel and vaudeville hall.

The audience will be invited to sit back and listen to the syncopated sounds of early musical and vaudeville theater. Vintage footage from the silent-film era will also be shown while the orchestra performs the musical renditions that accompany the black and white motion pictures.

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is also known for its work on radio programming, such as The New York Times, WQXR, NPR, BBC and the Voice of America networks. In addition, the group has been featured on soundtracks of several motion pictures and television programs.

Since 1989, the Walt Disney Company has relied on the orchestra's recordings for the outdoor theme music heard at Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland, Disney World and Disneyland Paris.

History in the music

Founded by Benjamin in 1985, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra uses his extraordinary 20,000-title collection of antique theater and dance orchestra scores (c.1875-1925) as the basis of its repertoire, captivating audiences worldwide.

The archive includes rare published scores and manuscripts by more than 700 American composers, including luminaries like Joplin, Edward MacDowell, W.C. Handy, Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin.

The works of African-American composers are especially well represented. All of the Paragon Orchestra's concerts, silent film screenings and recordings are created exclusively using the orchestrations from this world-class collection.

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For more information about the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, visit www.paragonragtime.com.

Comment by email:
Thanks Bill: The Orchestra and I really appreciate your continuing support.

Sincerely, R Rick Benjamin, Founder & Artistic Director PARAGON RAGTIME ORCHESTRA