WILLIAM WESTNEY holds the B.A. from Queens College (N.Y.) and a performance doctorate from the Yale School of Music, all with highest academic distinctions.  He studied in Italy under a Fulbright grant.  Performing credentials include top piano prize in the Geneva International Competition, top prize (and only American winner) in Radiotelevisione Italiana auditions, recitals at New York's Lincoln Center, in London, in Taiwan and Korea, throughout Italy on a U.S. State Department tour, and on NPR's "Performance Today", appearances as concerto soloist with such orchestras as Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and  l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and solo recordings for Musical Heritage Society and CRI. The CRI recording, the first ever of music by futurist Leo Ornstein, was cited by Newsweek magazine as one of the "Ten Best American-Music Recordings" of the year.

Westney’s educational ideas continue to have a refreshing, invigorating impact on the musical world.  Widely in demand as a workshop leader (the trailblazing “Un-Master Class”), interdisciplinary lecturer, writer, and private consultant, he was awarded the prized Certificate of Merit from the Yale School of Music Alumni Association for his innovative work as an artist/teacher.  He has also received three special teaching awards at Texas Tech University, where he is a Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor of Piano and the Browning Artist-in-Residence. The "Un-Master Class" was the subject of a featured NEW YORK TIMES article (1997), and has been held at such prominent centers as the Aspen School, Beijing Central Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Kennedy Center, Royal Conservatory (Toronto), Cleveland Institute, Tanglewood Institute, Royal College of Music (London), Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst (Vienna), and the Juilliard School.

He was named in 2005 to the roster of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars "Senior Specialist" program, through which the U.S. government sends professors around the world for academic residencies. His first such assignment was in Seoul, Korea (November 2006).

Amadeus Press published William Westney’s first book, THE PERFECT WRONG NOTE, in Fall 2003 to widespread critical acclaim.  Now in its second printing, it is a “well-thought-out approach to music instruction to which many aspire, but which few attain” according to the Library Journal, and American Record Guide described it as “refreshing and rewarding.” Schirmer Performance Editions released Dr. Westney's edition, and CD recording, of piano etudes by Stephen Heller in October 2005.

While his empowering ideas and techniques have come to fruition through work with musicians, Westney has found more and more ways to apply his methods beyond the discipline of music. Professionals in other creative fields, such as interior design, photography and the culinary arts – and in corporate management – are discovering the straightforwardness, vitality and universality of William Westney's approach to problem-solving, communication and creativity.