WPAA
Turn back the to an era more than a century ago when parents worried that the newest music craze, ragtime, was going to corrupt their children. You can experience some of the best of ragtime along with clips from silent film classics at 3 p.m. central, Sunday, March 10, at the Oakley High School auditorium. Admission is by Western Plains Arts Association season ticket or adults $20, students, $10 at the door.
The Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra is “the premier American ragtime ensemble” as hailed by the Washington Post, and is rapidly becoming the leading professional ragtime orchestra in the United States. Formed by young virtuoso Andrew Greene at the University of Maryland in 2010, the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra recreates the syncopated stylings of a bygone era – ragtime, theater, and dance music, along with underscoring classic silent films using an immense archive of over 12,000 original orchestral scores.
PRSO’s concert programs highlight the music of the late 1800s and early 1900s, with selections by composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, W.C. Handy, Victor Herbert, George M. Cohan, and of course, the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin. Marches, two steps, waltzes, one steps, theatre selections, classical parodies, popular songs, and of course, rags, are just some of the many selections you’ll hear in their concerts.The PRSO records for Rivermont Records (www.rivermontrecords.com), whose three albums, Elite Syncopations, Step With Pep and That Teasin’ Rag have been called “first class”, “wonderful, toe tapping fun”, and “the most satisfying ragtime orchestra collections available.”
WPAA season programs are made possible the generous support of numerous area businesses and individuals including a major gift by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, Logan, Kan.
In addition to their concert programs, Greene and the PRSO underscore classic silent films featuring the biggest names of the day: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, Douglas Fairbanks, and others. Greene also has the distinction of rebuilding the original compiled scores for a couple Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin films and others from the PRSO’s collection of more than 500 original film scores.
The PRSO has repeatedly appeared at leading venues including The Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress and The American Film Institute. The PRSO’s work has been featured in documentaries, online video, and is frequently heard on radio and podcast programs, including Hot Jazz Saturday Night (WAMU 88.5, Washington, DC), Ragtime America (KGNU 88.5, Boulder, Colo., and Rapidly Rotating Records (KISL 88.7, Catalina Island, Calif.) Visit the group’s website at peacherineragtime.com for sample audio clips, more information about CD’s, additional media photos and reviews.