Omar Williams currently teaches at Shaker Junior High School in Latham, NY where he directs band, jazz ensemble, and teaches general music. He is also an adjunct trumpet professor at RPI since 2019. Williams holds a Master of Music Education and a Bachelor of Trumpet Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College.
 
An active freelancer, he has performed with many local ensembles including the Silver Arrow Band, New York Players, Schenectady Symphony, Glens Falls Symphony, and Sage City Orchestras. He plays with the Keith Pray Big Soul Ensemble and former lead trumpet player of the Joey Thomas Big Band. Williams regularly plays for local churches, musicals and opera productions. He has performed in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Troy Music Hall, Cohoes Music Hall, Proctor’s Theatre, Palace Theatre and was a bugler at the Saratoga and Belmont Racetracks. Internationally, he has toured in Ireland, England, France, Austria, Belgium and Germany. Most recently he recorded on an album in Jerusalem, Israel and has been invited to play with bands in Ireland.
 
Giving back to the organizations that supported him as a young musician is a great source of pride. He is a board member of Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) and chairperson of the Middle School Honor Band for New York State Band Directors’ Association (NYSBDA). Williams resides in historic Troy, NY, as proud homeowner of the house that was used in the famed Norman Rockwell painting—The Street Was Never the Same. Outside of music, Williams loves traveling internationally and training for half and full marathons.