The School of Music’s 2005-2006 2nd Thursday Concert Series opens Sept. 8 with a performance by UGA faculty member Martha Thomas and Susan Teicher. The two pianists will join the UGA Symphony Orchestra to recreate the sound of Art Ferrante and Louis Teicher, masters of the twin pianos in the 1960s and 1970s. Tickets for the performance, which will be repeated Sept. 9, are available at the Performing Arts Center box office. General admission is $15; tickets for UGA students are $7.
Art Ferrante and Louis Teicher were often referred to as the “Movie Theme Team.” The repertoire for their popular performances included a long list of movie themes such as “The Apartment,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “The Godfather,” “Rocky” and “Exodus.” Their signature sound, heard for 20 years on United Artists Records, consisted of full orchestra, voices and their two nine-foot concert grand pianos.
Susan Teicher, daughter of Louis Teicher, and Thomas began recreating the music of the famous duo several years ago. Working with incomplete and handwritten scores, the new team has managed the task with the full support of the original duo.
“Art Ferrante and I are thrilled that my daughter, Susan, and Martha Thomas are resurrecting our arrangements for two pianos and orchestra,” says Louis Teicher. “They are doing a wonderful job of carrying on the tradition.”
The new duo will appear on stage in “sparkly” attire, recalling the original team’s flashy costumes-obtained, according to Louis Teicher, by “raiding Liberace’s closet.”
The UGA concert will feature selections from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “West Side Story” and “Exodus” as well as several of Ferrante and Teicher’s greatest hits, including “Theme from The Apartment” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns.”
