Scott Joplin
By Eric Marchese
March 8, 2018
It’s been about a century since ragtime music’s 20-year reign as America’s primary form of popular entertainment came to an end.
But down through the decades, ragtime’s story has continued to be
told – not just by musicians and composers but by scholars and
historians who recognized the music’s position as the cornerstone of all
subsequent American pop music.
Some of ragtime music’s most vocal proponents of the past few decades
are, like Rick Benjamin, a combination of musician, bandleader,
historian, preservationist of Americana and champion of this most vital
of musical styles that originated entirely on American soil.
Benjamin founded The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra 32 years ago and has
taken it to every corner of the nation and the globe – but PRO’s
appearance at La Mirada Theatre on Sunday, March 11 is its first at that
venue and in that city, and its first anywhere in Southern California
in nearly a decade.
According to Benjamin, BT McNicholl, La Mirada Theatre’s artistic
director, is “a great friend of vintage American music and its history.”
The 18-selection show, titled “Scott Joplin & The Original Kings
of Ragtime,” is characterized by Benjamin as “an interesting mix” of
vintage ragtime à la Joplin and obscure rarities such as pieces from
black-American theater of the early 20th century.
***
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
When: 2 p.m. March 11.Where: La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada
Tickets: $10-$25
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