Writing a soundtrack for history — and life
Future composer Carter Roberts has spent his time at Virginia Tech helping audiences experience major events in history while also composing his future career.
Name: Carter Roberts
Hometown: Chester Springs, Pennsylvania
College: College of Architecture, Arts and Design and College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
Majors: Music with an option in creative technologies and professional and technical writing
Plans after graduation: To make music, wherever it takes him.
Immersing audiences in history
Roberts’ first major composing project at Virginia Tech put his work at center stage as part of the university’s 150th anniversary. No pressure.
The “Torgersen project,” as he and his team like to refer to it, premiered in October 2022, during Homecoming weekend and the university's sesquicentennial celebration. The university commemorated the event by projecting a scrolling slideshow on the side of the Torgersen Bridge. Roberts wrote and created the sound design to accompany the display of images that represented important moments in Virginia Tech’s history.
The project kicked off when a representative of the Institute of Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), reached out to Charles Nichols, associate professor of music in the School of Performing Arts, looking for a composer. According to Roberts, who stresses the necessity of “getting your foot in the door,” he responded immediately to the email, excited to put his skill to work on a grand scale.
Roberts’ goal for the project was to mimic and highlight the growth of Virginia Tech through the expansion of musical intonations. “As the landscape started to build itself, and as the colors of the university came through, the musical language diversified,” Roberts said.
He included recognizable audios to compliment culturally significant events in the university’s history. For example, Roberts layered a mock-up of “Enter Sandman” over the scene of the Virginia Tech football team running onto the field. During the Day of Remembrance scene, Roberts used “Taps,” which is sounded during patriotic memorial ceremonies. He even included a recording of the men’s choir from the '70s in the display.
Although the Torgersen project was Roberts’ first significant opportunity in his college career, it is far from his last.
ICAT contacted Roberts again, this time asking him to create the sound design for the 80th anniversary display at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
“I was writing the soundtrack to thousandths of deaths,” Roberts said as he reflected on the significance of his role.
To create a fear-inspiring soundtrack, the creative technologies student ran orchestral sounds through guitar amps. He took sounds that were familiar and mangled them until they were just on the edge of recognizability.
Similar to how he brainstormed the sound design for the Torgersen project, Roberts considered how he wanted the audience to feel while watching the D-Day display. He asked himself what emotions he wanted viewers to experience during the scenes of the peaceful English countryside as well as scenes of young soldiers in battle.
“The D-Day project was definitely the most expansive and most full throttle writing experience so far,” said Roberts. “It was also the most challenging because of the diversity of emotions.”
In addition to writing dark and emotional pieces, Roberts creates light and funky arrangements. Looking for a change of tempo, he volunteered himself to write the soundtrack for the Vetement de Rue (VDR): a fashion show that combines art, fashion, and film.
The production, created by Virginia Tech students, continues to make history as a creative outlet for individuals with interests spanning from fashion design to engineering. “VDR is arguably the single most viewed student-run culmination of multimedia art at Virginia Tech,” Roberts said.
Although he didn’t have any experience with fashion, Roberts found himself walking in the fashion show as well. Due to his support in the past, he is currently on the executive board. “The show was super fulfilling, and it was the first time I got to walk out with my name in the credits,” Roberts said.
Surrounding himself with sound
“Music is supposed to interweave with this world and create an underbelly for an experience that envelopes you and puts you in a world that is outside of our own,” Roberts said.
Roberts always knew that he wanted to surround himself with music and with people who love music. When deciding on where to go to college, Roberts emailed Nichols with questions about Virginia Tech and opportunities for music majors.
One email and about 40 paragraphs later, Roberts had all the information he needed and decided to bring his skill and curiosity to Blacksburg to work with Nichols. “This is a man who cares about his work, and I want to be surrounded by that,” Roberts said.
As Roberts looks toward graduation, his straightforward goal for the future is to make music. He is interested in creating and designing music for movies, video games, and environments, such as gardens or aquariums.
To design music for environments, musicians must know how sound affects the audience, not just emotionally but physically, too.
Roberts explained that by describing a classroom demonstration from Professor of Practice Eric Lyon. Lyon played a frequency, a single, very low tone, and told Roberts and his classmates to walk around the room. The students noticed that the sound was quieter or louder in different places.
“He told us that we were walking in between sound waves, and when it was low, it wouldn’t reach our ears. It was the coolest demonstration I’ve seen,” Roberts said.
In addition to academic opportunities, Roberts takes every chance he can get to integrate himself into the local and national music community. He performs DJ sets at raves under the alias “ROUND5” and assists on projects for the EDM club. He is currently developing pieces for a metal festival, writing music for New York University students for a fashion show, and creating the sound design for a friend’s film.
“I’m an artist. We’re all artists,” Roberts said. “Art is a bunch of hardworking individuals producing something exciting. That’s what the goal is, what the goal has always been.”
Written by Ashley Falat, a junior communications major
