"Effortless technique, splendid rhythmic grasp and fullness of tone allowed his performance to reach great heights . . ." The Desert Sun Palm Springs, CA

Award-winning classical pianist William Chapman Nyaho is a native of Ghana, West Africa, where he earned the Performer's Diploma and the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (UK). He received his advanced music training from Oxford University in England, the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève in Switzerland, and New York's Eastman School of Music, where he pursued his Master's Degree in Music.

Chapman Nyaho was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990. Following a four-year residency as a North Carolina Visiting Artist, Chapman Nyaho now teaches at the University of Southwestern Louisiana where he holds the Heyman Endowed Professorship. He is the recipient of the 1998 University of Southwestern Louisiana Distinguished Professor Award and also the Acadiana Arts Council Distinguished Award. He also serves as an adjudicator for several state piano competitions as well as international piano competitions in Italy.

In addition to being a prize winner at competitions in Italy and the United States, Chapman Nyaho has been the recipient of the American Composers Award for his performance of music by African American composer R. Nathaniel Dett, the Most Promising Pianist Award, and the Mary Louisa Catlin Award at the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition.

Chapman Nyaho's performing experience includes solo recitals in Ghana, England, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and various cities across the United States. In 1996 he gave the world premiere of the Rosewood Concerto with the African American Philharmonic of Atlanta, Georgia and has also performed as soloist with the Greensboro Philharmonia, the Lexington Symphony, the Hendersonville Symphony, and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra. As a duo pianist he performs regularly with Dr. Susanna Garcia. They recently released a compact disc on the Centaur Label, Aaron Copland: Music for Two Pianos, and together, they lecture on the music of composers of African heritage or Hispanic heritage and women composers. He has also been featured on radio and television broadcasts in Ghana and Switzerland, and National Public Radio.