Friday, June 20, 2008

Writer: Larry B. Dendy, 706/542-8078,  ldendy@uga.edu
Contact: Lloyd Winstead, 706/542-3966,  winstead@uga.edu; Martha Thomas, 706/542-2760,  mlthomas@uga.edu

Professor plays “Red and Black March”

Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia music professor Martha Thomas recently played a piano version of the “Red and Black March,” which was composed 100 years ago and is believed to be the University of Georgia’s first school song (cover at right). Thomas’ performance may be the first time the piece has been heard in decades because the music was thought to be lost.

A video of Thomas’ performance, and background information on the march, are available on the Web on the UGA Home Page, www.uga.edu. The video can also be accessed at http://www.video.alumni.uga.edu/page5/page5.html.

The march was composed in 1908 by R. E. Haughey, UGA’s first band director. No copy of the music was known to exist until Lloyd Winstead, associate director of UGA’s Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, found it for sale on eBay and bought it for $12.50.

The four-page sheet music is scored for piano and is not an arrangement for band. Thomas performed the piece June 13 in the Ramsey Concert Hall of UGA’s Performing Arts Center.

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