October 13-14, 2017

CollabFest is a celebration and exploration of all things collaborative piano. At the heart of the matter, the collaborative arts are about teamwork, community building, generous sharing of self, and the sheer joy of making music intimately with another human being. CollabFest celebrates this!

CollabFest is committed to providing an enriching and stimulating symposium on a variety of topics central to collaborative piano. Collaborative pianists and vocal coaches work with other musicians, but rarely have the opportunity to gather with other collaborative pianists. The mission of this event, now in its second year, is to provide a gathering place and a forum for discussion and exploration for collaborative pianists, as well as opportunities for networking and socialization. We are thrilled, this year, to be offering CollabFest at UNT on October 13 and 14, and at the University of Southern California, home to the first collaborative piano degree, on October 28.

CollabWeek 2017 begins with a three-day residency given by award-winning American composer Tom Cipullo. In addition to public masterclasses for voice, opera, composition and collaborative piano the residency will include the premiere of a commissioned work for bass-baritone Michael Anthony McGee performed with internationally acclaimed pianist Liza Stepanova.

The week will culminate in CollabFest at UNT. Last year's event was the first-ever anywhere (as far as we know) public festival devoted exclusively to collaborative piano, themed and tuned to honoring our mentors. We are thrilled to be able to expand this year's event to two days. This year's festival takes the theme “TeamWork makes Dream Work,” paraphrasing John C. Maxwell, and celebrating the joy of joining forces with another soul towards a common goal. We will explore concepts of partnership and partnering in a variety of ensemble settings. CollabFest is for students of piano and collaborative piano, for professional pianists, and for musicians interested in the collaborative arts. All are welcome.

CollabFest 2017 features the incomparable Dr. Jean Barr who will serve as master clinician and keynote speaker. Dr. Dana Brown will present masterclasses and moderate a panel of professional collaborative pianists discussing career development. Sessions presented by guest faculty and UNT faculty members will address issues of performance practice, technique, repertoire, entrepreneurship, and health. There will even be a “piano bar” tutorial!

We invite you to join us for this exciting 2nd annual event and hope to see you at UNT on October 13 and 14!

Collaboratively yours,
Elvia Puccinelli and Steven Harlos,
Artistic Directors