About The BQE Project

The BQE Project is a five to eight-piece chamber ensemble that has quickly developed a loyal following for its original music scores and live performances to both silent and sound films.  Audiences have learned that they can expect to view a wide palette of films, from early silent cartoons to classic films (early talkies) including James Whale's "Frankenstein."  The ensemble was founded in 1998, when  Nazziola  and then partner John Florio re-orchestrated Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 film score to City Lights—primarily by reconstructing thematic material from Chaplin’s handwritten notes (originally intended for copyright submission).

The group then returned in 1999, having composed an original score for Chaplin’s 1925 masterpiece, The Gold Rush. The new score was featured on BBC Worldwide News and has enjoyed several performances throughout the northeast.  Under the musical direction of Tom Nazziola, the BQE Project now performs regularly at film festivals and theaters throughout the country - including Lincoln Center (NY, NY), Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Prince Music Theater (Philadelphia), George Eastman House (Rochester, NY) and the Hampton's International Film Festival.

Tom Nazziola also scores music for television and film; his music is heard regularly on Dateline NBC, ESPN, MTV and CBS News.


"The BQE Project  is one of the best of those groups that regularly composes new scores for old films and performs them live.  Through a combination of percussion, sound effects, comical noises, light-classical themes and jazzy figures, the BQE built a sense of character and tone that echoed Chaplin's visual cues, and executed them with flawless accuracy.

- Seth Rogevoy, The Berkshire Eagle, Massachusetts

Tom conducts as the ensemble performs to City Lights (Celebrate Brooklyn)

"The BQE Project's innovative mix of original musical themes and enhanced live accompaniment fills the theater with an energy and a spirit that makes classic cinema come to life in whole new ways."

- Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer