All Together Now

Collaborative Piano with Anne Epperson

A year ago, when Professor Anne Epperson was deciding which university teaching position to accept, she found that the University of Colorado at Boulder stood out because of the strength and diversity of its music programs. “The level of interest in supporting development of Collaborative Piano here is extraordinary. Unlike solo piano, to successfully build a collaborative program you are dependent on faculty and students college-wide to create the necessary experiences. In all my years of teaching, I have never been in a place with such strong resources in both vocal and instrumental disciplines.”

Collaborative Piano has evolved from traditional piano accompanying. The term “collaborative” emphasizes the cooperative (rather than secondary) role of the pianist throughout the performance preparation process. The late renowned collaborative pianist Samuel Sanders first used the term in an interview to describe this more equal partnership. According to Professor Epperson, “a successful collaborative pianist must have a gift for working in a partnership. In order to achieve this, the pianist must be able to listen closely and be aware of all aspects of sonority, rhythm, and musical shaping of the entire presentation.”

The college community gladly welcomed the appointment of an educator and performer of Anne Epperson’s stature to the faculty in the Fall of 2004. She had previously been Professor of Music and Director of Collaborative Arts at the University of California – Santa Barbara and head of the Collaborative Piano Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  Other prior faculty positions include teaching appointments at the University of Illinois and the North Carolina School of the Arts. She is also currently on the artist faculty of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. 

“I sometimes call my approach “accompanists’ liberation,” says Epperson. “Traditionally the role of an accompanying pianist has been thought of as secondary or as a default for those who couldn’t “make it” as soloists. My approach is to elevate the relationship on both sides, but it’s not enough to just stand up and say accompanists are not appreciated. We need to make the reasons for respect happen by developing professionalism and enthusiasm.” With that in mind, most of Epperson’s lessons are taught to the pianist together with a partner.

Faculty from throughout the College have been an important part of the program’s success. “Sometimes teachers are content with a staff pianist coming in at the last minute, but here the faculty are willing to include pianists in the entire educational process,” says Epperson. “In some music programs, Collaborative Piano programs are separate from the Keyboard Department, but since CU’s keyboard faculty members are so collaboratively gifted and supportive, we decided to keep ours together.” Faculty outside of the Keyboard Department with strong collaborative experience have also fueled Professor Epperson’s enthusiasm. These include the Takács Quartet, CU Opera Music Director Nicholas Carthy, and vocal coach Mutsumi Moteki, among others.

Along with Professor Epperson, CU also hired pianist Margaret McDonald in order to expand the program’s offerings to both graduate and undergraduate students. McDonald is completing her DMA degree at the University of California – Santa Barbara, where she originally worked with Epperson. She attended the Music Academy of the West in the summers of 2000 through 2002 as a fellowship student and also received a fellowship to study at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center in the summer of 2003.  In 2004, she was invited to the Meadowmount School for Strings in New York as a staff accompanist.

In their first year at CU, Anne Epperson and Margaret McDonald have succeeded in establishing a core group of successful student collaborative pianists. In May of 2005, CU-Boulder administration formally approved new MM and DMA degrees in Collaborative Piano. “We had a really strong applicant pool this year especially considering that the program was still coming together. 25 prospective graduate students applied and we were happy that all of our top candidates chose to come to CU-Boulder. We’re up and running much faster than expected and that speaks to CU’s strength,” says Epperson.

Collaborative Piano classes will be available to undergraduate piano majors, however Epperson has no plans to establish an undergraduate degree. “The best way for a student to approach this is to get a strong undergraduate education in solo piano and then return for more specialized graduate study in Collaborative Piano.”

According to Professor Epperson, the most satisfying part of her work is the opportunity to influence students throughout the College of Music, even outside of the keyboard area. “It’s not just about a pianist learning how to accompany. All of the performers must learn to get the most out of their partnership with each other.”

Anne Epperson Biography
Margaret McDonald Biography
Keyboard Department