East Studio Building, JS303
Biography
Pianist Anne Epperson is professor of music in collaborative piano and chair of the Chamber and Collaborative Music Department.
Epperson enjoys a distinguished career as a performer, recording artist, teacher, and clinician. She made her debut at age 12 with the New Orleans Philharmonic under Alexander Hilsberg.
After studies at Louisiana State University with Earl D. Stout and Jack Guerry, and The Juilliard School, with Sascha Gorodnitzki, she entered graduate school at the University of Southern California, studying with Daniel Pollack, and was appointed staff pianist for the master classes of renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz.
This auspicious beginning led to a successful career as a collaborative partner. Epperson has appeared in concert with distinguished artists throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Scandinavia, Taiwan, and Korea.
Critics have praised her collaborative artistry: “an excellent partner . . . technical ability and musicality admirably displayed” (TheNew York Times), “extraordinarily sensitive and well-realized work . . . a gifted accompanist” (The Seattle Times), “eloquent support” (Los Angeles Times), “Epperson is a chamber music pianist with few peers” (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
She has recorded for Vanguard, Musical Heritage Society, Nonesuch, Centaur, Koch International, and Claves, and has produced and edited recordings for Nonesuch and Azica.
Her career as an educator is equally impressive. She joined the Jacobs School of Music faculty in 2016 as professor of collaborative piano, creating a new program offering three graduate degrees in collaborative piano.
Epperson created and developed a graduate degree program at The University of Texas at Austin and was professor of collaborative piano there from 2008 to 2017. From 2004 to 2008, she was professor of collaborative piano at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s College of Music, where she also created and developed a new graduate degree program. She was professor of music and director of collaborative arts at the University of California–Santa Barbara from 2001 to 2004.
From 1985 to 2001, she was head of the Collaborative Piano Department (a department and degree program that she created) at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Previous faculty positions include teaching appointments at the University of Illinois at Champaign–Urbana and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Epperson has been juror for many prestigious competitions, including the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Coleman Chamber Music Competition, Plowman Chamber Music Competition, New Orleans International Piano Competition, Corpus Christi International Young Artists Competition, and Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards.
Epperson has been a panelist, lecturer, performer, and master class presenter for the Music Teachers National Association, National Conference on Piano Pedagogy, Colorado Music Teachers Association, Oklahoma Music Teachers Association, Indiana Music Teachers Association, South Carolina Music Teachers Association, Arkansas State Music Teachers Association, and Vocal Arts Resource Network in Ohio.
She is active as a consultant and advisor in the development of collaborative piano programs nationally and internationally. Since 2016, she has been involved in the annual CollabFest, a conference for collaborative pianists by collaborative pianists. She is on the advisory board of the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society, the first international professional association devoted exclusively to collaborative piano.
Epperson was on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara from 1992 to 2006, teaching, performing, and administering the collaborative piano program she designed.
Since retiring from the Music Academy, she has been guest artist at various summer festivals, including the Colorado College Summer Music Festival in Colorado Springs and the Aspen Music Festival and School. She has been a guest performer and coach at the Sarasota Music Festival, International Festival–Institute at Round Top, Garth Newel Summer Festival, Taos Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, and Meadowmount School for Strings, among others.
In October 2020, Epperson was a featured guest lecturer at the 3rd Annual Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Collaborative Piano Festival. The presentation was viewed by over 2,000 students in Mexico, a tribute to the importance of collaborative piano internationally.
In June 2022, she was guest faculty at the Collaborative Piano Institute in Louisiana, giving master classes and private coaching.