OLIVIA was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and grew up dividing her time between Italy and the United States. She started studying guitar and writing her first songs in middle school and later joined the high school choir. Under the guidance of Roy Zimmerman, she took her first theory of music classes in high school and discovered her passion for jazz. While pursuing her undergraduate studies at the University of San Francisco, she sang in two vocal ensembles directed by Rick Roberts: USF Women’s Voices and USF Jazz Voices. Around that same time, she had her first experiences as a recording artist and began collaborating with jazz and folk musicians around the Bay Area. > Go to the Press Kit website Olivia’s stylistic approach to music shifted slightly in 2001 when she was given the opportunity to study classical Nepali voice with well-established singer and composer Aavaas, while volunteering for an orphanage in Katmandu. This experience brought immense musical inspiration and left her eager to explore her voice paying particular attention to color and rhythm. She moved back to Italy in 2002 and earned a B.A. in English Literature (cum laude) at John Cabot University in Rome while continuing to take voice lessons with Luisa Cottifogli (Imola). In 2005, she moved on to study jazz voice with Cecilia Izzi at the University of Music in Rome and nonverbal communication with established singer/songwriter Grazia Di Michele. In 2008, Olivia met drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. and saxophone player Stacy Dillard while participating in The Orsara Jazz Masterclass. This was the foundation of a friendship that would later become central in the recording of her debut album. Sharing a stage with Ulysses while performing Stacy’s arrangements made Olivia realize that playing with musicians such as these was her ultimate goal. In 2009, she opened for blues artist E.C. Scott and presented her project Liv’n’Symposium, winning the vocal competition that took place during the “Jazz Women in Blues” festival (promoted by Naima Club, Forlì, Italy). She was awarded full scholarship at the Venice Voice Academy in Los Angeles for the 2010 summer-session and moved back to the U.S. in July 2010. Olivia moved to New York in November 2010 and has since been recording, performing, teaching and furthering her own musical studies under the guidance of Marc Mommaas and Jeremiah Abiah. She recently finished her first solo album “Perennial Dreamer” (release date: March 11, 2013) produced by Ulysses Owens Jr., with Miki Hayama (Keys), Michael Olatuja (bass), David Rosenthal (guitar), and Ulysses Owens Jr. (drums), and featuring Gregoire Maret (harmonica), Mike Cottone (trumpet), Stacy Dillard (sax), and Cory Pesaturo (accordion). Among other projects, Olivia recently started a duo with guitarist Chris Mariner inspired by the rhythmic elements of polyrhythm and mixed meter. The duo debuted at the 2012 Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn, and is getting ready to record its original material in the spring. In September 2012, she started collaborating with The John Ehlis Ensemble with Chris White Jr. and Alex Weiss, making her appearance at Adinkra House and Trumpets, NJ. Olivia recorded two singles for the album “Enygma Inkarnate” by Da Capo Playas, produced by Pat Lewis “L. lex L.”, released in April 2012, and is currently getting ready to record a new album for The Natural Dub Cluster. SEMINARS / MASTERCLASSES Throughout her musical journey, she has attended several seminars and workshops both in Europe and in the U.S., including: “All Star Masterclass” with Katie Krykant (Music Academy, Bologna, 2007); “Orsara Jazz” with Lee Konitz, Sivia Donati, Stacy Dillard, Kengo Nakamura, Ulysses Owens Jr., Leo Izzo, Hugo Alves and Greg Burk (Orsara, 2008); “Jazz Improv and Vocal Technique” with Silvia Donati and Beatrice Sarti (Bologna, 2009); “Crossover Singing Method” with Giovanna Gattuso (Viterbo/Los Angeles, 2010); “Vocal Jazz Workshop” with Carolyn Leonhart (NY Jazz Academy, New York, 2011); and “Vocal Summer Summit Workshop” with Fay Victor (NY Jazz Workshop, New York, 2011).