Phillip C. Roberts is a composer and music theorist with a passion for teaching. His compositions range from peacefully ambient to rhythmically driving. 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.

As a pianist and organist, Roberts is an active recitalist, championing not only his own works but those of his fellow composers. He is the pianist for Trio Apéritif, and has played keys in several funk and soul outlets including Best of Cincinnati award winners Fox Soxx. 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.

Arts education is an area to which Roberts ascribes the highest importance. He 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. 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.

Phillip C Roberts