ABOUT

Growing up a south Georgia chorister, she experienced the radical magic of learning in collaborative contexts and performing in intimate relation to her community. In her work as a performer and as a teacher, she actively strives to nourish a symbiotic musical ecosystem. Olivia followed her love of ensemble to the Choral Music Education and Voice Performance programs at the University of Georgia, and later, Westminster Choir College. There, she earned her master’s degree in voice pedagogy and performance, toured with the Westminster Choir and sang with the Opera Theatre. As a member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, she sang in the ensemble for concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. These performances informed her love of masterworks that are as intimate as they are majestic, such as Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. 

Olivia’s gravitation towards solo work originated with art song. As she explored her love of poetry set to music, she realized that cooperation does not only happen when musicians share physical space, but when investigating matters of the heart. Her work is rooted in an understanding that music connects us to each other’s humanity, transcending boundaries and barriers with emotion and testimony. 

Her draw to projects that endure through generations and connect us cultivated her dynamic experience. Recognized for her “remarkably nimble ability to embody a variety of styles,” she brings “vibrant expression and insightful musicianship” to her diverse repertoire. Her most recent recital project explored song written in the first half of the 20th century, juxtaposing the works of Alban Berg, Richard Strauss, and Samuel Barber. As a concert soloist, her performances include works of Charpentier, Bach, Händel, Stravinsky, and Britten.  She was a featured soloist at the Spoleto Festival USA, singing the role of Filia in Carissimi’s Jepthe and as a soprano soloist for Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. On the operatic stage, her favorite roles include Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. 

Based in New York City, she can be regularly heard at St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue as a soloist and member of their professional choir. After a year of quarantine, she is thrilled to return to the stage in the ensemble for a new production of Le Roi Arthus presented at Bard Summerscape. 

Outside of classical music, Olivia’s favorite singers are Cécile Mclorin Salvant and Dolly Parton. She also loves drawing, tap dancing, flowers, and her hound dog, Susan Sarandon.