Welcome to the Accompaniment in America digital collection, created in connection with the book Accompaniment in America: Contextualizing Collaborative Piano (Routledge, 2025).

Accompaniment in America offers a transformative exploration of collaborative piano as both an essential art form and a multifaceted profession. Authored by Chanda VanderHart, Kathleen Kelly, and Elvia Puccinelli, it aims to deepen understanding of the historical, academic, and sociological dimensions of collaborative piano, with a particular focus on its development in North America.

This digital platform, architected and designed by Chanda VanderHart and implemented and programmed by David Wögerbauer, expands the book’s reach, enabling readers to delve deeper into its subjects. From interviews with field experts, to source material, to rare archival footage, these resources offer an unparalleled opportunity to explore the field’s rich history and ongoing evolution.

Through a blend of rigorous scholarship, rich storytelling, and multimedia digital innovation, this hybrid project brings the history of collaborative piano to life. By weaving together archival research, personal interviews, and advanced visualization tools, this project presents a multidimensional view of the field and its history, celebrating its complexity and cultural significance.

The book and its accompanying digital collection explore:

• Historical Foundations: From early degree programs at Curtis Institute of Music and University of Southern California to the trailblazing contributions of figures like Gwendolyn Koldofsky.
• Pioneering Figures: Profiling selected key individuals who shaped the discipline: Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Jean Barr, Samuel Sanders, Eugene Bossart, John Wustman, Margo Garrett, Anne Epperson.
• Institutional Development: Analyzing the establishment of over 100 degree-granting programs across North America, supported by interactive visualizations and detailed data.
• Modern Discourse: Investigating contemporary challenges, innovations, and the evolving academic landscape of collaborative piano, through conversations with field experts and historical documentation.
• Digital Resources: Offering access to a treasure trove of multimedia materials—photos, videos, interviews, articles, recordings, and more

Please note that while some objects documented in these collections have been published Open Access, that is not automatically the case. Specific permission is required to reuse most images, CITING THIS COLLECTION IS NOT SUFFICIENT. If you are interested in reusing anything and unclear of its status, please contact Chanda VanderHart for information about who the copyright holders are and how to best reach them. Feel free to both cite and link to this collection as a whole, or to reuse those objects identified within it as Open Access, citing appropriately.