African Piano Music
UW Humanities Building 455 N. Park St., Madison, Wisconsin 53706
press release:
The UW-Madison MTNA Collegiate Chapter and School of Music are bringing in the wonderful pianist and teacher William Chapman Nyaho for a three-day residency April 9-11 at the UW-Madison School of Music in Mosse Humanities Building.
Dr. William Chapman Nyaho grew up in Ghana and studied music at Oxford University in England and in the United States. He is known around the world for his engaging piano performances of both Western classical music and piano music of Africa and the African Diaspora. Dr. Nyaho compiled and edited a five-volume graded anthology of piano sheet music by composers of African descent published by Oxford University Press. This anthology represents a wide variety of newly published material and has become quite influential in the classical music realm by expanding the repertoire available to both students and concert pianists. Dr. Nyaho has also released two critically-acclaimed CDs of his performances of solo piano music by composers from Africa and the African Diaspora. In addition to his performing and recording career, Dr. Nyaho is known for his sensitive and empowering teaching. Having served as Visiting Professor at many university campuses around the United Sates, he is universally praised for his authenticity, enthusiasm, and artistry as a clinician and teacher.
"A talented young man with a rare mixture of youthful enthusiasm and mature reliability… intelligent, sensitive and possesses remarkable character…." -Maya Angelou
Here is the schedule of events:
Lecture: African Piano Music - Thursday, April 9th, 2015 at 7:00pm in Mosse Humanities 2531
Lecture: Business Aspects of Music - Friday, April 10th, 2015 4/10/15 at 4:00pm in Humanities 1351
Masterclass for Pianists - Friday, April 10th, 2015 at 8:00pm in Morphy Hall
Piano Recital - Saturday, April 11th, 2015 at 8:00pm in Mills Hall
Thursday night (April 9th) at 7:00pm in Room 2531 Dr. Nyaho will give a presentation and question/answer session about African piano music. He will discuss the melding of African and Western cultures found in classical piano music by composers of African descent. On Friday at 4:00pm in Room 1351, Dr. Nyaho will give a presentation focused on several business aspects of music. He will draw from his own experience editing and compiling an anthology entitled “Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora.” He will also discuss the logistics of running his own private piano studio in Seattle. Friday night at 8:00pm in Morphy Hall, Dr. Nyaho will give a two-hour masterclass to three UW-Madison piano students. On Saturday night at 8:00pm in Mills Hall, Dr. Nyaho will give a solo piano recital of a mixture of Western and African classical music. All events are free and open to the public.
For his recital, he will be playing a mixture of Western and African piano repertoire, including Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 31 No. 3. His specific program will be posted on the School of Music website soon.