FARMINGTON—  On Sunday, Oct. 24, Doug Protsik will perform his original piano score for the silent Buster Keaton comedy classic “The Cameraman” alongside a screening of the film.

The performance will begin at 7 p.m. at the University of Maine at Farmington’s Lincoln Auditorium, Roberts Learning Center. Admission is $6, free for those 16 and younger.

Protsik, a UMF graduate, has been performing old-time piano for more than 30 years, both as a solo artist and with bands such as The Old Grey Goose and the Maine Country Dance Orchestra. He learned the style and technique from old-time piano players in Maine, who not only played at dances and Grange halls, but also provided live music for silent movies and radio programs. The old-time style became unfashionable in the 1930s, but Scott Joplin’s ragtime music in the popular movie “The Sting” revived interest in the early 1970s.

Basically an extension of the solo barroom/dance hall piano style developed in the mid-19th century, old-time piano music combines elements of traditional dance music, ragtime, folk music, classical music and early jazz.

Protsik learned the art of scoring silent movies from Danny Patt, who first accompanied silent movies while growing up in Union. Inspired by old sheet music from Patt’s collection and research at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library in Blue Hill, Protsik’s scores attempt to embellish the action on screen in an original and authentic way, often challenging the discerning ear to catch unique musical puns.