Cheryl Tschanz was born in Lima, Ohio. She began her piano studies at age four and, at six, transferred to the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her ability as a pianist was recognized early. At seven, Clavier magazine described her as having “startling qualities of great talent.”
She made her major orchestral debut, at age eleven, as guest soloist with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has played in concert halls throughout North America and Europe. Reviewing her New York performances at Lincoln Center and the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, The New York Times described her playing as “full of character and a pleasure to hear.” The late renowned Prague Symphony conductor Jinrich Rohan described her: “Great technique, musical intelligence, and dramatic playing. She isn’t just playing notes but projecting real feeling and expression.”
Ms. Tschanz was the first recipient of the Thayer Fellowship for the Arts. She has been a Fellow of the Tanglewood Summer Festival. She has received numerous prizes at international piano competitions, including: University of Maryland International Competition (now the William Kapell), Cleveland Symphony Orchestra Competition, Indiana University Concerto Competition, Beethoven Foundation Fellowship (now the American Pianists Association Competition), and Piano Teachers Congress of New York International Competition. She represented the United States in the Concours Long Thibeaud in Paris.
She studied for one year at Peabody Conservatory. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indiana University and a Doctorate from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her most influential teachers were Ruth Edwards and Alvaretta West (Cleveland Institute of Music), Boris Berman (Indiana University), Konrad Wolff, and Gilbert Kalish (SUNY Stony Brook).
Ms. Tschanz was a professor of music at Colby College from 1991-2008, where she directed the piano and accompanying programs. She is a respected teacher, coach, adjudicator and master class clinician. Her students have attended some of the top colleges and music schools in the country.
A sought-after collaborator, she has, among other things, designed and performed the sound track for the popular Jack the Cuddly Dog children’s video, adapted and performed the music for the stage play East Lansing, and performed on-stage with the dancers at the World Ballet Competition.
Chamber music occupies a prominent place in her professional life with a special interest in new music from living, female and Latin American composers.
She lives in Orlando, Florida where she maintains a private teaching studio and is active as a soloist and chamber musician.