Composing music for silent films is not just of interest to the composers of a bygone era. This enchanting form of composition is very much alive and of allure to even the youngest of composers. Student musician/composers in the Composers in the Schools program at Berkeley High School have chosen to write for silent films in this fourth year of successful performance. Under the mentorship of Katrina Wreede, eleven students have collectively composed the scores to four energetic and diverse examples of silent filmmaking: from the slapstick antics of Laurel and Hardy in The Two Tars, to the surrealist journey of Hans Richter's Ghosts Before Breakfast; from the mesmeric puppet animation of Starewicz's The Mascot, to the fanciful nightscapes of Porter's The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend. Every spring, the composition class selects a professional new-music ensemble to perform their final projects in a public concert. This year, the students chose Nik Phelps and the Sprocket Ensemble, a Bay Area-based group specializing in film accompaniment. Guided by both Wreede and the Ensemble's musical director Phelps, the students have composed for an array of instruments that includes reeds, violin, bass, piano, and percussion. Join us for an evening of ageless cinema.The Two Tars (James Parrott, U.S., 1928, 22 mins, From Kit Parker Films). The Mascot (Ladislaw Starewicz, France, 1933, 21 mins, From David Shepard). Ghosts Before Breakfast (Hans Richter, France, 1928, 9 mins, From MOMA). The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (Edwin S. Porter, U.S., 1906, 7 mins, From Russell Merritt).Special thanks to Katrina Wreede, Nik Phelps, David Shepard, and Russell Merritt.