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T&T’s first ever two-piano duet recital, Dances for Two, will take place on May 25 and 26, at the Department of Creative and Festival Arts on Gordon Street. The concert will be presented by pianists Rosie Ward and Alan Cooper, and will also feature a number of vocalists and instrumentalists, with part proceeds going to the University of the Southern Caribbean’s (USC) Music Scholarship Fund.

Cooper said the musical duo began to play two-piano music in 2017 for the fun of playing together. After putting on a concert for friends and family in 2018, they decided to share the music they had learned with the public. He explained that usually a single pianist plays the piano, while with a piano duet, two pianists sit at the piano and play together. With a two-piano duet, two pianists play different parts of a piece of music, with each using a full piano. “It means they can perform more complex music and produce a wider range of sound and colours. It is more difficult because you have to synchronise with another person as an ensemble without seeing each other’s hands. It is challenging to present this kind of music because you need to find a place that has two pianos and pianos are difficult and costly to move around.”

He said the recital is mainly composed of classical music, carefully curated so as not to be boring. “One piece is 20th century classical music and requires that we use the lid of the piano as a percussion instrument. Another piece is written for two pianos and singers. The recital features three guest performers each night. On May 25, the guests are saxophonist Nicholas Sylvan and flautist Jodie Johnson from Dominica, both USC students. On May 26, the guest performers will be soprano Ayrice Wilson and violinist Marc Harroo. Wilson has won several awards and been featured in performances in Trinidad and the US. Harroo is the concert master with the National Philharmonic Orchestra (NPO). On both nights, there will be a vocal ensemble of ten singers who have performed with the duettists before. While the recital consists mainly of piano music, the duo enjoys highlighting emerging talent and thinks the audience will enjoy hearing some variety.”

 Ward is a well-known pianist, music teacher and lecturer in East Trinidad, and has taught at USC for 23 years. In Trinidad, Ward studied with the famed Francis Burke-Archbold and Millicent Roberts before she completed graduate studies in music performance at Andrews University, Michigan, with Dr Hans Jurgen Holmann and Dr Blythe Owen in 1966. Her career encompasses 53 years at various universities in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Cooper first competed at the T&T Biennial Music Festival at age 14, before going on to win nine trophies and collaborate with an impressive array of performers, including Jeanine De Bique, Renée Castle and Anne Fridal and touring Costa Rica with the Marionettes Chorale. He studied with Esther Kafiluddi-Batson in Trinidad and Elsa Perdomo-Guevera in Madrid, Spain. He holds a licentiate diploma in piano performance, summa cum laude, from Trinity Guildhall, London.

Refreshments at the recital will be provided in part by the Alliance of Rural Communities of T&T (ARCTT), as a way to raise awareness of the group and its work. Cooper said “Often, music and art tend to exist in a space that is separate from real challenges. They often help people forget their problems for a while but not solve them. Dances for Two will use its platform to highlight and support positive change outside of the circle of the arts. On this occasion, it will raise awareness of ARCTT, a group that is working to strengthen sustainable activities such as chocolate making in rural communities. By placing emphasis on ARCTT, the duo will take the spotlight off of themselves and put it on climate change, global warming and participatory rural development.”

Cooper said part proceeds of the event will go to the USC Music Scholarship Fund which provides needs-based support to students. “Since Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2018, it has been more difficult for some students from other Caribbean islands to meet mandatory tuition expenses. The USC Music Programme is the only accredited tertiary education programme that does not receive GATE funding.” Dances for Two takes place on May 25 at 7:30 pm and May 26 at 5:30 pm. Tickets cost $200, students and patrons over 60 pay $150. Tickets are available at Paper Based Bookshop at the Normandie Hotel, St. Ann’s, Adventist Book Centres (ABC) in St. Augustine and San Fernando, and the Music Department, University of the Southern Caribbean, Maracas St. Joseph. For further information, call 398 2297 or 7954311 or e-mail cooperward2piano@gmail.com.