Tacoma Arts Live announcement.
TACOMA, WASH.— Tacoma Arts Live presents Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, the premier American ragtime ensemble, on Saturday, April 8 for two performances at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m at the historic Tacoma Armory. The Stage & Screen Spectacular concert features the music of a bygone era, including the underscoring of classic films. Founder and Director Andrew Greene leads an 11-piece ensemble in the performance of ragtime, theater, and dance music, as well as bringing the movies of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel & Hardy to life. Tickets start at $40 and are on sale now.
Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra (PRSO) vibrantly recreates the syncopated stylings of the early 1900s using original silent movie cues and an immense archive of over 15,000 original orchestral scores. The films accompanying the Stage & Screen Spectacular concert are comedy shorts Cops (1922), The Rink (1916), and Big Business (1929), all of which are sure to transport audiences to the turn of the twentieth century and have them rollicking.
While in Tacoma, PRSO will honor local composer Joe Jordan (1882-1971). Jordan was an influential African-American ragtime composer, writing for Chicago’s first all-Black theater, The Pekin Theater, and later writing for productions put on by Florenz Ziegfeld (of Ziegfeld Follies fame). Jordan moved to Tacoma in the 1940s and became a celebrated member of the community. His music and mentorship is woven into Tacoma’s history, including Dear Lincoln, composed for Lincoln High School – the proceeds of which he insisted went to purchasing a piano for the school. PRSO will be playing Joe Jordan’s big hit, “That Teasin’ Rag” from 1909.
PRSO is the leading professional ragtime orchestra in the United States, appearing at leading venues such as The Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress, and The American Film Institute. Their work has been featured in documentaries, online video, and on radio and podcast programs across the country. PRSO’s Founder and Director Andrew Greene is an authority on orchestral ragtime and silent film accompaniment, and is the curator of several theater orchestra collections, along with his own personal collection.
PRSO will perform Stage & Screen Spectacular on Saturday, April 8 at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. at the historic Tacoma Armory located at 1001 South Yakima Ave. This event is open to all ages. Tickets to Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra start at $40 and are on sale now. To reserve tickets, call Tacoma Arts Live Box Office at 253.346.1721, visit in person at Tacoma Armory, or online at TacomaArtsLive.org.
