A collaborative pianist is a professional accompanist
Collaborative Pianists Guild of Utah
Utah's association of professional accompanists
Collaborative Pianists Guild of Utah
Utah's association of professional accompanists
Member Spotlight
Amy Coulter
My name is Amy Coulter, and I’m the new historian for CPGU. One of my tasks is to do a member spotlight occasionally, so I’ll start with myself.
My mom was my first piano teacher. She taught me through the level of John Thompson Teaching Little Fingers to Play, which maxed out her musical knowledge. My after-mom piano lessons were taught by a series of neighbors in trade for homemade bread, babysitting, and eventually just because I was so eager to learn. I will always be grateful to my mother who made it possible for me to learn to play the piano.
Some of my earliest musical memories are singing along with soundtracks on cassette tape with my sisters. Our favorite was Annie. We would put “It’s A Hard Knock Life” on repeat on our family boom box and sing as loud as we could as we cleaned. I’m almost positive we were not wearing the potato sack dresses they wore in the movie, but that’s the image in my mind so it might be true.
I continued piano lessons in college and graduated with a bachelor’s in elementary education and a minor in music. I taught school for a few years and then retired and turned my full attention to being a mom. I loved the years of running playgroups, mom preschool, and volunteering and helping at their schools. I have also loved serving in my church and community. Along the way, I continued doing a little bit of accompanying for friends and family and a couple of community choirs. Last year, I was invited to join CPGU, and I have loved the classes and workshops to help me be a better collaborative pianist.
My family is my pride and joy. My husband is a karaoke king with an uncanny knack for sounding almost like the original artist, no matter the genre or style of singing. I have five kids, ages 21 to 13. My oldest is in the music ed program at BYU. My second is currently serving a mission in Armenia for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My younger three are a senior, freshman, and 8th grader. Between the five kids, I have two flute players, three clarinet players, two bass clarinet players, four saxophone players, and randomly, a gymnast.
Feel free to contact me if you would like to be the next person spotlighted. I look forward to talking with you and getting to know you better!
Membership in Action - New Instagram account
Apply to be a Member!
*The CPGU website membership application had some technical issues over the past few months. If you applied but did not get a response, please apply again with the link below. Thank you for your patience!
We offer great support for fellow collaborative pianists and students who want to gain further experience in this field. Our bi-monthly meetings bring in professionals in the music field to enhance the discussion about what is Excellence in collaborative piano. We offer membership to college students and non-students (professionals).
Summer Social 2023
The Summer Social was hosted by Beata Navratil in her lovely home in Draper where she cooked many wonderful foods. We discussed ways to be more present at local public schools and devised a list of "10 Tips for Working with an Accompanist", which will be hand delivered to local band and choir teachers. New postcards will be created with a QR code that links to the website, and an Instagram account will be set up. Members are encouraged to submit photos of themselves accompanying to Samantha Adair or post directly to Facebook or Instagram.
ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
Formed in 2019 in Orem, Utah, the Collaborative Pianists Guild of Utah is an L3C trade association (tax-exempt) that supports its members with professional resources and continuing education. We advocate for professionalism in the music field between collaborative pianists and other musicians and their teachers.
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Collaborative Pianists Guild of Utah is to raise awareness, expand vision, and promote excellence in the art of collaborative piano; and to create a liaison between collaborative pianists and the musical community of Utah. We seek to encourage interest in collaborative piano among student pianists through community outreach and education of fellow piano teachers and sponsoring events that recognize outstanding collaborative work among young pianists.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- President - Jayne Galloway
- Vice-President - Mat Stokes
- Secretary - Juliet Preston
- Historian - Amy Coulter
- Treasurer - Vera Alder
- Social Media - Samantha Adair