Allan Arthur Willman (variant spellings Alan & Wilman; né Allan Arthur Simpkins; 11 May 1909 Hinckley, Illinois 7 May 1989 Cheyenne, Wyoming) was an American classical pianist, composer, music pedagog at the collegiate level, and longtime chairman of the Department of Music at the University of Wyoming.
He led the development of a more comprehensive Music Department for aspiring academicians and professionals in performance, composition, education, and musicology.
He went on to earn a Master of Music degree from Chicago Musical College in 1930, where he studied with Maurice Aronson (1869–1946), Alexander Raab, and Lillian Powers (1886–1973),[14] who was an associate teacher with Raab and a former pupil of Theodor Leschetizky and Giuseppe Ferrata (1865–1928),[15] who in turn was a certified pupil of Franz Liszt.
[17][18] After World War II, while serving as Chairman of the Department of Music at Wyoming, Willman took leave during the 1947–48 school year to study in Lausanne and Paris—Robert R. Becker (1909–1997), a virtuoso violinist and violist who began teaching at Wyoming in 1941, served as Acting Chairman during Willman's sabbatical.
During the summer of 1953, Willman made a European concert tour with Rudolf Kolisch, artist-in-residence at the University of Wyoming and leader of the Pro Arte Quartet They performed in cities that included Vienna and Berlin and over numerous radio networks.
After returning from Paris in 1936[23] Willman began teaching music at University of Wyoming, where he remained until retirement in 1974.
During his time in the Army, George William Gunn (1899–1966) was acting Chairman of the Music Division at the University of Wyoming.