The Roaring ’20s!
The ’20s began with the aftermath of WWI and ended with the onset of the Great Depression. In between, it was an era of unprecedented social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.
SVC celebrates the decade with a collection of some of America’s most cherished songs, including music written by Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Victor Herbert, and more. The Chorale and SVC soloists are joined by Rick Benjamin’s Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble to recreate the syncopated sounds of early musical theatre and silent cinema. Come and enjoy a rip-roaring good time!
Friday, May 1 & Saturday, May 2 | both 7:30pm
Weber Auditorium, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove – view google map
Co-sponsors: Sara Lee Butter Krust/Patricia & James Apple; Wood-Mode, Inc.
Underwriters: Carole & George Schneider; Anne & Tom Gates
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
Now celebrating its 29th touring season, The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (PRO) is the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble specializing in the authentic recreation of “America’s Original Music”—the sounds of early Broadway, “silent” cinema, and vintage ballroom dancing. PRO came into being as the result of Juilliard student Rick Benjamin’s 1985 discovery of thousands of historic orchestra scores of the legendary Victor recording company. This extraordinary collection sparked Benjamin’s formation of his “Paragon Ragtime Orchestra” at The Juilliard School the following year. In 1988 the Orchestra made its formal debut at Lincoln Center. Since then PRO has toured extensively across 48 States and several countries overseas to more than 700 performing arts centers, including the Ravinia Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, Chautauqua, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the Brucknerhaus (Austria), and the American Dance Festival. In 1999, PRO’s music inspired master choreographer Paul Taylor’s new dance, Oh, You Kid!, which was premiered at The Kennedy Center jointly by the Paul Taylor Dance Company and the Paragon and has since toured the world. In 2003 the Orchestra premiered Rick Benjamin’s reconstruction of Scott Joplin’s 1911 opera Treemonisha. More recently, PRO had the honor of appearing twice as special guests of the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis.
PRO has acquired a considerable following both here and abroad through its radio programs on NPR, New York Times’ WQXR, the BBC, the WWFM Classical, and the Voice of America networks. Since 1989 more than 600,000,000 people have enjoyed the Orchestra’s recorded area music on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland, Disney World, and Disneyland Paris, and in 1992 PRO proudly served as “Ambassador of Goodwill” for the United States at the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain. Over the years the Orchestra has been heard on the soundtracks of several feature films and television programs, including productions for PBS, HBO, the FX Channel, and Turner Classic Movies. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s widely praised discography includes 16 albums and 2 DVD sets of historic Hollywood films with authentic scores. PRO’s recordings have made the Billboard Charts (“TopClassical)
