The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra is a five piece chamber ensemble (piano, violin, cello, clarinet, and cornet) that revives the repertoire of silent film orchestras. Using historic libraries of music, and selecting and fitting a piece of music for each scene in the film, Mont Alto compiles vibrant and emotional scores using the original techniques of silent film orchestras. “The results are often breathtakingly beautiful and always in the strict service of the film on the screen.” (Dave Kehr, The New York Times.)
Mont Alto was formed in Colorado in 1989, and has scored over 125 silent films, recording over 40 film scores for releases on DVD, Blu-Ray, and for showings on Turner Classic Movies. The Mont Alto Orchestra appears regularly at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, the TCM Classic Film Festival, the Denver Silent Film Festival, the Chautauqua Auditorium film series, and the Kansas Silent Film Festival. They have toured the country from Films at Lincoln Center in New York to Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Their most recent release is “Entreaty,” a CD of silent film compositions for romantic scenes.
Mont Alto will accompany two films on March 8th: Dog Shy (1926) directed by Leo McCarey, featuring Charley Chase; and Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) directed by Charles Reisner, featuring Buster Keaton.
A portion of the proceeds from this concert will benefit Colorado Puppy Rescue, a no-kill rescue dedicated to saving young puppies and their mamas. Since CPR fosters first opened their homes in 2005, their community has helped rescue and find homes for over 16,000 puppies. They provide love, safety, and health care for the puppies while CPR searches for their new forever family.