A native of Thailand, Nophachai Cholthitchanta joined the University of Arkansas in the Fall of 2001, a member of The Lyrique Quintet, the Boston Mountain Chamber Players, and principal clarinetist of the North Arkansas Symphony. Previously, he taught at Graceland University and faculty at Continuing Education, The University of Missouri-Kansas City.
 Dr. Cholthitchanta holds degrees from Chulalongkorn University, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Indiana University, University of Northern Colorado, and University of Missouri-KansasCity, Conservatory of Music, where he was selected as a Liberace Scholar. His principal teachers include Eli Eban, Richard Lesser, Alfred Prinz, Bil Jackson, Jane Carl, Thomas Masse, Michael Campbell, Andrew Simon, and has studied chamber music under Alexander Schneider, Mathew Ruggiero, Abraham Skernick, Dorothy Dwyer, Anthony Camden, etc.

Formerly, Nophachai was the principal clarinetist of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, L'Orchestre Mondial Des Jeunesses Musicales, Asian Youth Orchestra, Asean Youth Orchestra and was a member of Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, New Ear Ensemble etc. He has performed at music festivals as a soloist, chamber music musician and orchestral member in the major concert halls in more than twelve countries including Concertgebouw Hall, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus. He has performed under the baton of Alexander Schneider, Lukas Foss, Günter Herbig, Eric Klas, David Alan Miller, Samuel Wong, En Shao and others. He was also a concerto competition winner at the Hong Kong Academy Concerto Competition, the Rocky Mountain Competition and twice at the University of Northern Colorado Symphony's Solo Competition. He has performed concertos with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Thai National Orchestra, North Arkansas Symphony, UNC Symphony Orchestra, Kasetsart Wind Symphony, UA Symphony Orchestra and UA Wind Symphony. Nophachai has appeared at International Clarinet Association (ICA)-ClarinetFest, International Double Reed Society Convention, National Flute Association Convention.

In addition to modern clarinet, Nophachai is also a researcher and an avid collector of historical clarinets. He owns both originals and reproductions of  18th - 19th c. clarinets. His research paper entitled "Stubbin's S-K Mechanism" will be published in a companion volume to the Catalogue of the Sir Nicholas Shackleton Collection by Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. In 2009, he will be performing a lecture-recital on period clarinet at the 38th American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) Meeting, University of Michigan.