Hank Troy Silent Film Cue Sheets and Scores

Hank Troy was born in Marion, Virginia, in 1947. He studied piano through a succession of private teachers from age five through four years of college. After attending Emory & Henry College in Virginia, he headed west, moving to Denver, Colorado, in 1969. In Denver, he attended Metropolitan State College and received a state teaching certificate. He planned to be a history teacher but because of a poor job market in the Denver Public School System, he became a full-time musician in 1973.

Troy has performed in the Denver area since 1971, when he began presenting ragtime concerts and accompanying silent films at the Denver Folklore Center. His musical expertise became known state-wide when for two years he hosted the musical variety show “Glenarm Place” on KRMA-TV (1980-81), and as host of “Ragtime With Hank Troy”, the long-running weekly radio show on KVOD-FM (1976-80).

From 1975-80, he was musical director at Theatre Under Glass in Denver, a community theatre which presented plays, musicals, revues and operas. In 1976, he began performing as film accompanist at the Telluride Film Festival and for many years he was also music director of the festival. He has played for films at festivals in Aspen, Breckenridge and Denver, Colorado. He plays each year for the summer silent film series which started in 1985 at the Boulder Chautauqua.

In 1981, he began playing piano with the Queen City Jazz Band, the Denver-based Dixieland band founded in 1958. In 1985, he formed his own swing group, the Hank Troy Jazz Quartet. In 2000, he also joined the Alan Frederickson Jazz Ensemble.

Tory has composed music for television, radio, and theatre, and he has written songs for children’s theatre. He has also produced concerts and recordings in conjunction with the Queen City Jazz Band.

He is currently the acting executive of the Queen City Jazz Foundation, which raises money for college scholarships in traditional jazz. He is Director of Referrals for the Denver Musicians Association. In addition, he is the administrator of an arts-integration initiative called The Harmony Project at Remington Elementary School in Denver, Colorado.