Remembering Kelly Archer

It's always humbling to read about the lives of collaborative pianists who have passed away, how they moved people, how they impacted communities. A lovely article in the Columbia Daily Tribune covers a celebration of the life and work of Kelly Archer in Columbia, Missouri, both at the University of Missouri at Columbia and Stephens College. Here are some comments about how people remembered her:

"She made choreography a delight for me. She had been a dancer herself and knew exactly what I was doing every moment."

"When I was a terrified 18-year-old with an unexpected solo in a Rep musical, her calm and seemingly unshakeable confidence in me basically enabled that solo to happen."

"There is a chord missing from all the harmonies in her absence."

"She gave piano lessons to Jack LaZebnik and gently advised him not to punch the music into the piano but to pull it out."