This silent film screening features shorts by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd with their original orchestral scores performed by the world-class Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (PRO) is the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble re-creating “America’s Original Music” – the syncopated sounds of silent cinema, early musical theater, and vintage dance. The PRO came into being as the result of Rick Benjamin’s 1985 discovery of thousands of turn-of-the-century orchestra scores once belonging to Victrola recording star Arthur Pryor. In 1988 the Orchestra made its formal debut at Alice Tully Hall – the first concert ever presented at Lincoln Center by such an ensemble. Since then PRO has appeared at hundreds of leading arts venues, including the Smithsonian Institution, the New York 92nd Street Y, and the American Dance Festival.
In addition to its worldwide concert hall, university, and festival appearances, the PRO has acquired a considerable following both here and abroad through its radio programs on the “New York Times’” WQXR, National Public Radio (“All Things Considered,” “Performance Today” and others), the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the “Voice of America” networks. Since 1989 the Walt Disney Company has relied on the Orchestra’s recordings for the outdoor “area music” heard at Disneyland, Disney World, and Disneyland Paris' Main Street, U.S.A.
Over the years the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been heard on the soundtracks of several motion pictures and television programs. The Orchestra’s audio and video recordings have been widely praised, and considered instrumental in rekindling interest in America’s rich traditions of theater, cinema, and dance orchestra music.
The PRO is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis and may be limited. For more information, call 702.507.3459.
AGE GROUP: | Teens | Seniors | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Entertainment & Theater |
Mon, Dec 16 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Tue, Dec 17 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Wed, Dec 18 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Thu, Dec 19 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Fri, Dec 20 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Sat, Dec 21 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Sun, Dec 22 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Originally opening in 1966 as a three-room library within the Airport Annex building, the Clark County Library moved in 1967 to a storefront. In 1971, the library moved again to its current location using deeded land from the County and with money awarded by the Max C. Fleishman Foundation. The building went on to have two remodels: one completed in 1986, and the second completed in 1994, which resulted in the three-story, 120,000-square-foot building it is today. This redesign notably included a 399-seat theater and an 80-seat black box theater/dance studio. The Library District also added the Best Buy Teen Tech Center, which provides a place for teens to explore and master new technologies and digital skills.