Pianist Margaret McDonald, a native of Minnesota, is an Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano at the University of Colorado Boulder. She joined the College of Music keyboard faculty in the fall of 2004. She helped to develop the College’s graduate degree program in Collaborative Piano and the undergraduate collaborative curriculum. Praised for her poetic style and versatility, Dr. McDonald enjoys a very active performing career and has partnered many distinguished artists including the Takács Quartet, Glenn Dicterow, Zuill Bailey, Joshua Roman, Paula Robison, Carol Wincenc, Ben Kamins, David Shifrin, William VerMeulen, David Jolley, Ian Bousfield, Joseph Alessi, Steven Mead, and Velvet Brown. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Dr. McDonald was a rehearsal pianist and coach for the world premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar.
Dr. McDonald is active throughout the country giving master classes at institutions including The Juilliard School, Indiana University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Arizona State University, University of California – Santa Barbara, and Louisiana State University. She has released recordings with Michelle Stanley, flute, Velvet Brown, tuba, Aaron Tindall, tuba, and Erika Eckert, viola for Potenza Records, Centaur Records, and Meridian Records.
Dr. McDonald received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of California – Santa Barbara. Her principal teachers include Lydia Artymiw and Anne Epperson.
Dr. McDonald has been a staff accompanist at the Meadowmount School for Strings in New York and an official accompanist at the Music Teachers National Association competition, the National Flute Association annual convention, and the International Society of Basses competition. Dr. McDonald spends her summers as a member of the collaborative piano faculty at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. Last summer, she taught for the Music Academy Remote Learning Institute (MARLI).
