‘Cue the Music’ takes audience to the movies
From the Observer-Reporter:
"A century after Charlie Chaplin’s first silent movie debuted, his films are still making audiences laugh.
Among those resurrecting Chaplin’s classics is Pittsburgh composer and pianist Tom Roberts, who is composing new music for them, including a recent score written for Chaplin’s short film, “The Pawnshop.”
It is the third such score Roberts has written for a silent Chaplin film, and a special screening of it will be held May 3 as part of the Washington Symphony Orchestra’s season finale, “Cue the Music..."
The Pawn Shop premiere
Tom Roberts, left, with the Hollywood Theater's Chad Hunter
A new score for Charlie Chaplin's The Pawn Shop, written and performed by Tom Roberts, premieres tomorrow at 2 p.m. at The Hollywood Theater in Dormont. The film is one in a six-part series titled Silents!, Please at the theater.
Allegheny City Ragtime Orchestra connects with history
Pianist Tom Roberts' passion: finding Pittsburgh music composed by Pittsburghers
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
For pianist Tom Roberts, creating the Allegheny City Ragtime Orchestra is the culmination of a lifelong passion for finding Pittsburgh's music. After falling in love with ragtime music in elementary school, "I wanted to find something to connect to from my locale, and when I did research I found nothing," he said.
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Rediscovering Pittsburgh's ragtime roots
On 90.5 WESA's Essential Pittsburgh, Tom discusses the city's rich ragtime history with host Paul Guggenheimer.