Nyaho / Garcia Piano Duo - Five By Four - Music for Piano Duo by Alberga, Grantham, Kerr, Sung and Piazzolla (2022)

Tracklist

01. Two-Piano Suite
02. Fantasy Variations on Gershwin’s Piano Prelude II for Two Pianos
03. Concert Scherzo - Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel? for Two Pianos
04. Epicycles for Piano Four-Hands: I. Allegro energico
05. Epicycles for Piano Four-Hands: II. Interlude: Adagio religioso
06. Epicycles for Piano Four-Hands: III. Andante con moto
07. Epicycles for Piano Four-Hands: IV. Interlude: Adagio
08. Epicycles for Piano Four-Hands: V. Presto
09. 3-Day Mix for Piano Four-Hands
10. Milonga Del Ángel (Arranged for Two Pianos by Pablo Ziegler)
11. La Muerte del Ángel (Arranged for Two Pianos by Pablo Ziegler)

William Chapman Nyaho and Susanna Garcia met during their doctoral studies at the University of Texas at Austin in the 1980s. Although simply friends at first, their musical collaboration began as they both began teaching at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the early 1990s. The formation of the Nyaho/Garcia Piano Duo represented not only their respect for each other’s musicianship, but also their shared musical philosophy and the desire to bring the joy of music for two pianos to a wider audience. They have gained recognition throughout the United States, Europe and Africa, with programs that blend standard repertoire and newly composed works, much of which had been written expressly for them. The Nyaho/Garcia duo’s debut album, Aaron Copland: Music for Two Pianos (Centaur CRC 2405), received critical acclaim, being called by some “the standard against which any future performances of these dances will be measured.” With this new collection of music for two pianos, Nyaho/Garcia presents a world of sound by composers both familiar and not. It is hoped these performances will bring to light the composers and their works, and in so doing helping them find a place in the canon of piano music for duos and duets.

Susanna Garcia, a South Texas native, has performed both solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States, and in Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and Ghana, and has been featured on radio and television. Under the auspices of the Mexican government’s cultural enrichment program, Garcia toured the country giving recitals and workshops. Also highly active as a clinician, she has presented workshops, papers and master classes on a variety of topics for an assortment of organizations, including the International Society for Music Education, College Music Society, Music Teachers National Association, National Association for Humanities Education, National Group Piano/Piano Pedagogy Forum, Louisiana Music Teachers Association, and others. She has been the recipient of many honors including the University of Louisiana Distinguished Professor Award, Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fellow, Louisiana Music Teachers Association Outstanding Teacher and the University of Louisiana College of the Arts Research Excellence Award. Garcia is the co-developer of eNovativePiano: Multimedia Resources for Developing Musicianship
Skills, which was awarded the 2021 MTNA-Frances Clark Award for Keyboard Pedagogy. Dr. Garcia holds a Master’s degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Texas A&M at Corpus Christi. In 2021, she retired from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she held the Louisiana Board of Regents/Ruth Stodghill Girard Endowed Professorship in Music.

William Chapman Nyaho, a Ghanaian American, is an active solo recitalist, duo pianist and chamber musician, giving recitals and concerts throughout the United States, and in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean, often focusing on music by composers of African descent. He regularly serves as a guest clinician at colleges and universities around the United States and has also adjudicated for national and international piano competitions. Chapman Nyaho’s professional experience includes being a North Carolina Visiting Artist and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he held the Heymann Endowed Professorship and was the recipient of the Distinguished Professor Award. He has served as Visiting Professor of Piano at Colby College and Pomona College, has been an Artist-in-Residence at Willamette University and professor of piano studies at the Adamant Music School. He has also been on the summer faculty of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Chapman Nyaho currently serves on the piano faculty at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, as well as operating a private teaching studio in Seattle. In addition to teaching, Chapman Nyaho serves on the board of trustees of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy and is Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Music Teachers’ National Association. A strong advocate for music by composers of African descent, Chapman Nyaho’s publications include a five-volume anthology entitled Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora [Oxford University Press] in recognition of which he received the 2022 MTNA-Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award. Chapman Nyaho earned his degrees from St. Peter’s College, Oxford University, the Eastman School of Music and the University of Texas at Austin. He also studied at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève in Switzerland.

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