Roberts began his musical journey at age 5 when he first learned piano and has since had a robust career as both a performer and composer.
In addition to his work at Missouri State University, Roberts is also a member of the faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, a renowned summer arts program.
One of Roberts' more recent ventures has been "Hocket Rocket."
"It's kind of a descriptive name. Not many people who aren't music majors would know what [a hocket] is, but it's a medieval technique where you take little fragments of a melody and spin them out among different members of the ensemble. So, then you get kind of a cumulative melody. And then rocket because, well, it's a fast piece and the momentum never really slows down," he explained.
Roberts added that the piece also includes unique forms of percussion.
"[It features a] kind of hobbled drum kit [made] from various orchestral percussion instruments. There's multiple people playing percussion instruments in the piece, and together it has the sound of a drum kit," Roberts said.
Roberts originally wrote the piece during his senior year as an undergraduate.
"There's a lot of differences because, once I decided to orchestrate it, I added a bunch of stuff for the different instruments and a lot more details," he explained. "I'd even riffed on the piece a little bit with a funk band I was in for a while. So, it is malleable, and it can be played by different groups."
One of those groups is the trio Aperitif, composed of Roberts, violinist Annette Meissner and cellist Michael Ronstadt, nephew of musician Linda Ronstadt.
The piece was also performed recently by the Columbia Civic Orchestra, which is composed of community members of all ages.
"It's definitely a big deal. A lot of us composers rely on generous donors and competitions like this in order to get our stuff heard," Roberts said.
For more information on Roberts and his work, check out his website and Facebook page.
