About

Olivia Davis grew up in Eugene, OR where she began her studies in violin performance at the age of nine years old. She attended the University of Oregon where she received her B.M. in Violin Performance and Music Composition in 2013. Olivia studied violin performance under Kathryn Lucktenberg, and composition with David Crumb, and Robert Kyr. In her last year of studies at the University of Oregon, Olivia began playing viola, studying with Leslie Straka. As a a very versatile performer, she occupied multiple positions both as violinist and violist during her time in Eugene: associate and assistant concertmaster, principal second violinist, and principal violist of the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra, principal second violinist of the Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (ECCE), concertmaster and principal second violinist of the Collegium Musicum, and principal violist for the Oregon Bach Collegium. In the third year of her undergrad, she co-founded the Ova Novi Ensemble (ONE) whose mission it is to perform works by women and those identifying as women composers. Membership for Ova Novi consisted of, and welcomed all genders.

Olivia continued her education in 2014 at the University of Texas at Austin where she received her M.M. in Composition, studying composition with Yevgeniy Sharlat, Dan Welcher, Donald Grantham, Russell Pinkston, and viola with John Largess. In Austin, Olivia had the opportunity to perform as principal violist with the University of Texas at Austin New Music Ensemble, concertmaster and soloist of the University of Texas Early Music Ensemble, and section violist with the Round Rock Symphony. She was a founding (and current) member of the ensemble, prismatx, a group whose mission it is to combine visual arts with new music, collaborating with living artists. As a performer and composer, Olivia has taken part in multiple festivals, including the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, and the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium in which she was principal violist of the American Creators Ensemble. Recently, the violin octet version of her piece, “Night Nihilism,” premiered at the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy.

She is currently the recipient of the Rackham Merit Fellowship at the University of Michigan

where she is pursuing her D.M.A. in Composition. She is an accomplished visual artist, and continues to be an active performer, performing and premiering colleagues’ works as well as her own. Olivia will be the featured artist in an upcoming concert of women composer’s works in Austin, TX  late winter.

Check out upcoming events, along with notable recent and past events, collaborations, and more in which Davis has been part or featured by visiting the Events page above.

Get an idea of some Davis-media by checking out both the Art and Music tabs in the menu above, as well as some other media by visiting the other links in the calendar and Events page.