JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The lights went down inside The Grand Halle.
“Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” a black-and-white silent movie, flickered on the screen. Pittsburgh pianist Tom Roberts started playing the 300-page original score he composed for the film on its 100th anniversary in 2022.
And, for one night, audience members were transported from modern-day Johnstown back to 19th-century Transylvania for a story involving Count Orlok, a grotesque vampire.
Nosferatu
Pittsburgh composer Tom Roberts introduces the silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” at The Grand Halle in Johnstown on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
“ ‘Nosferatu’ is no longer scary,” Roberts said during his introduction. “It’s not scary. We have been so desensitized by things that we see every day on that stupid phone, things we see on anti-social media. We have been desensitized. This film is no longer terrifying for us. So perhaps what we should do is we should watch this with the eyes that people had in 1922.”
The movie, directed by German filmmaker F. W. Murnau, was an unauthorized adaptation of author Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula.”
The original score was a compilation of traditional classical orchestra pieces, according to Roberts. For his new score, Roberts created music that was “inspired by the aura” of German and Austrian composers Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Nosferatu
Pittsburgh composer Tom Roberts plays the piano during a showing of the silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” at The Grand Halle in Johnstown on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
Dozens of people attended the viewing.
“First of all, I’ve heard about it forever,” Anita Lorek, from Salix, said. “I’ve never seen it. I like vampire movies. It’s an historical thing. Then, of course, with the pianist, we’ve heard a lot about him, and his capabilities and how great he is. Him putting a score to this sounded very interesting.”
Kim Rauch, a Grand Halle board member, said the movie was shown at this time to be part of the Halloween season.
Nosferatu
Pittsburgh composer Tom Roberts plays the piano during a showing of the silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” at The Grand Halle in Johnstown on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
“It’s a great film,” Rauch said. “I have a strong interest in silent film and all kinds of film. I teach music and film at UPJ (University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown). Any time there’s an opportunity to do something awesome like this here, we do it.”
Rauch added: “I think part of our mission here is to try to culturally reach various audiences and we find music events really work well.”
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