The Power of Teamwork: William Ögmundson, Collaborative Piano

What does it mean to be collaborative? William Ögmundson is a classically trained solo pianist, but he can often be found working with just about everybody as a collaborative pianist at Upper Valley Music Center.

“I sit in the adult and children’s choruses each week — a total of four rehearsals — connecting with the director, reading each other’s minds, and riffing back and forth to adjust the music to the individual voices,” said Ögmundson.

Ögmundson, who has been on the UVMC faculty since 2022, also teaches classes, including a piano master class, a class for adults with disabilities, and individual lessons. “My current students are adults, and they are taking music lessons because they love it and want to learn,” he said. “I learn from them as well. It is fulfilling.”

Ögmundson began performing at the age of 5, and was mostly a performer before COVID. He has performed at venues throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East including the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican as an organist for a Sunday morning mass. But when COVID hit in March 2020, performing came to a halt.

Ögmundson was teaching as a paraprofessional at Kearsarge High School when he saw the job opening at UVMC. “This looks like the kind of job I could learn to love,” Ögmundson said.

Not only does he work with a variety of musicians and students at UVMC, he collaborates as an award-winning composer and lyricist. Ögmundson co-wrote a lullaby with Tomie dePaola (1934-2020) for his beloved children’s story character, Strega Nona. “Pollyanna”, a musical that he wrote with Trish Lindberg, was published in 2011 by Dramatic Publishing. He co-wrote, with Tom Dunn, “Georgia O’Keeffe Paints Paradise” and won Best Musical Score in the New York Theater Festival. He recently created a moniker called “In Void” with Swedish composer and producer Rikard Mathisson where the two of them collaborate on music about art.

He shares his outside success — including 12 albums and more than 20 million streams worldwide of his recordings — and lends his expertise in a variety of ways at UVMC: keyboard instructor, accompanist for the Children’s Chorus, and accompanist for the adult Community Chorus.

“UVMC is this amazing place where all musical genres and all students are on an equal footing. There is respect and recognition that everyone brings something unique to the table,” Ögmundson said. “All students are welcome. It’s a great place for everyone that loves music.”