1. Ursula IngolfssonFassbind, was born in Switzerland, daughter of renowned writer and poet
Franz Fassbind. Enchanted with music at a very young age, she began playing the piano at the
age of four and made her first public appearance at age six. She studied with Theodor Lerch
and later with Sava Savoff at the College of Performing arts in Zurich, where she earned her
Bachelor Degree in Teaching and Piano Pedagogy at the age of 20.
The same year she played her debut at the Tonhalle Zurich. 18 years old she was invited by
Paul BaduraSkoda to study with him at the Mozarteum during the Salzburg Music Festival.
From than on he decisively motivated her playing for several years. She received her
Artist/Soloist Diploma in Zurich 1968. The following years she worked with American Pianist and
composer Richard Faith and studied composition with Robert McBride at the University of
Arizona.
Mrs IngolfssonFassbind lived for seven years in Reykjavik. There she recorded and lectured
regularly on piano literature at the Icelandic State Radio with special attention to Baroque and
the second Viennese School. Under the direction of Maestro Karsten Andersen she recorded
the Schoenberg piano concerto for the composer's Hundred Birthday celebration. She toured
regularly as a soloist and recitalist and made numerous recordings for European radio stations.
Earning high acclaim from critics as well as audiences she toured Iceland, Germany, the
Netherlands and Switzerland performing the Goldberg variations on 11 concert stages.
Since 1980 she has lived in the United States devoting herself mostly to chamber music and
teaching, she has worked, performed, and recorded with many noted artists. With two of her
daughters she founded the "Ingolfsson Trio", which for several years concertized in the United
States and in Europe. The trio also recorded for European radio and television and for PBS in
the United States.
Mrs. IngolfssonFassbind is a member of BMI, the American Composer's Guild, with works
published by International Music Company in New York and is preparing an extensive analysis
of the Goldberg variations. She is a dedicated pedagogue with 50 years of experience in
teaching. She has taught at the Konservatorium and Musikhochschule Zurich, and at the Music
College in Reykjavik, Iceland. She has also given master classes in Germany and the United
States. Several of her former students enjoy successful careers in music, as performers,
musicologists, and music educators. During her teaching career students have continued on to
Mannes School of Music in New York, Juilliard School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music,
the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and Freiburg im Breisgau and the Curtis
Institute of Music. Many have won local and international competitions. For many years she has
2. been doing research on the development of the musically gifted child and children with learning
difficulties. In 1987 she joined the faculty at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. In
2001 she founded her own school "The Leopold Mozart Academy".
In the spring of 2002, Mrs. Ursula IngolfssonFassbind was nominated and selected for
“Who’s Who among America’s Teachers”. Later that same year, she was nominated for
‘Who’s Who among American Women”, “ Who is Who in The World” and “Who is Who in
Education”. In February 2003 she was awarded a Grant for “strong commitment to excellence
in music education” by the Wilmington Piano Company. In 2004 her Biography was included in
the second edition of “Great Minds of the 21st Century” by the American Biographical Institute.
