Phillip C. Roberts is a composer, performer, and music theorist with a passion for teaching. His compositions range from peacefully ambient to rhythmically driving, with touches of inspiration from the places he has called home; folk from Appalachia and the Ozarks, and funk from Cincinnati and the Midwest.

Each of Roberts’ compositions is a passion-project, often tied to art, architecture, or literature. His chamber opera, Madeline Usher, provides an updated take on “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, while his orchestral work, The Library, mirrors the supposed proportions of the Library of Alexandria before its untimely conflagration. The former was recorded by an international cast, from New York to Ankara, Turkey. Other pieces by Roberts have been featured on albums, short films, and radio broadcasts, and he has been a guest on podcasts like Maneuvering Music and Man with a Mentor. Some of the commissions Roberts has fulfilled include compositions for Unheard-Of//Ensemble, the University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the opening of the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. John Hilliard, Marilyn Shrude, and Michael Fiday are among the composers with whom he has studied, and he has received masterclasses with Don Freund, George Lewis, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

As a pianist and organist, Roberts is an active recitalist, championing not only his own works but those of his fellow composers. In so doing he has premiered pieces by Evan Williams, Sara Corry, and many more. Roberts is the keyboardist for Trio Apéritif, an ensemble he co-founded together with violinist Annette Misener and cellist Michael Ronstadt. He has played keys in several funk and soul outlets including Best of Cincinnati award winners Fox Soxx and the Trinity Edralin band. He was a pianist for the Cincinnati Ballet and has toured the East Coast and United Kingdom as an accompanist for vocalists and choirs.

Roberts advocates for diversity in the arts, with a focus on neurodiversity. In conjunction with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Cincinnati Ballet, he was for three years the pianist at CB Moves, a program providing dance classes geared toward children with developmental disabilities. Recently, he partnered with the Lynx Project in Chicago to create a program wherein Roberts’ composition students write art songs setting poetry by primarily non-speaking individuals with autism. It is a rewarding, collaborative effort between the authors, composers, and voice students who perform the songs in a livestreamed concert event. Roberts was additionally on the committee for the Red Door Community Concerts, a diversity-centered concert series, and has written music for a radio-play put on by residents of the Wilson Children’s Home.

Arts education is an area to which Roberts ascribes the highest importance. Roberts is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition and Music Theory at Missouri State University and an instructor at Interlochen Center for the Arts during the summer. Between these and his previous position at Miami University, he has specialized in teaching Music Theory, Aural Skills, Counterpoint, Instrumentation, Computer Music, Composition Seminar, and individual Composition Lessons. Roberts strives to create moments of discovery and artistic fulfillment for students through methods that help them feel connected to the subject material and ultimately give them the creative thinking tools to make such discoveries on their own.

D.M.A., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
M.M., Bowling Green State University
B.A., James Madison University