Upcoming Events

Evergreen Expression Presents Ghanaian Pianist William Chapman Nyaho

William Chapman Nyaho
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 8:00 p.m.
Place: The Evergreen State College Recital Hall, 2700 Evergreen Park Dr. NW, Olympia
Admission: Gen. Adm. $20; Seniors/Students $10
Tickets: Rainy Day Records, Evergreen Bookstore, BuyOlympia.com, Communications Building Box Office daily from 12-3 pm or call 867-6833 to place phone orders
Campus Parking: $2.00
Information: Evergreen Expressions (360) 867-6651. For directions or more details go to http://www.evergreen.edu/expressions

College professor turned concert pianist, William Chapman Nyaho will visit The Evergreen State College campus to present a recital on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 in the college’s Recital Hall at 8 pm. General admission tickets are $20 and $10 for seniors and students on sale at Rainy Day Records, The Evergreen bookstore, online at BuyOlympia.com, the Communications Building box office, from 12 to 3 pm daily, or by placing a phone order at (360) 867-6833.

Recently lauded for his critically acclaimed CD release, Senku: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent, Nyaho will play the music of his rich African ancestry that famed poet Maya Angelou described as “so delicious, that the listeners will be made to laugh out loud and to compliment not just Dr. Chapman Nyaho, but themselves at their good fortune in finding these composers and this pianist … Nyaho’s courage can be seen in his willingness to find the music, to select the music, and then offer the music to an audience, which for the most part, had never heard of these composers. That was wondrously brave.”

Nyaho's performing experience includes recitals in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and the Caribbean. His recitals have typically included standard repertoire and piano music by composers of the African Diaspora. He also performs as soloist with various orchestras including the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Nyaho has been featured on radio and television broadcasts in Ghana, Switzerland, and National Public Radio in the USA. He has also developed and hosted radio programs such as The Bach Show for KRVS Public Radio in Louisiana.

Nyaho studied at Achimota School, Ghana, and Oxford University (UK), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree at the Honour School of Music. He continued his studies in piano at the Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve, Switzerland, the Eastman School of Music where he received his Master of Music degree and at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Nyaho is also the winner of prizes from the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition and the Ibla Grand Prize International Competition in Italy.

Following a four-year residency as a North Carolina Visiting Artist, Nyaho taught at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he held the Heymann Endowed Professorship. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Professor Award and the Acadiana Arts Council Distinguished Artist Award. He is currently working on a graded anthology of Piano Music by Composers of the African Diaspora to be published by Oxford University Press.

On the web: http://www.nyaho.com/senku.cfm