The Olivia Chindamo Trio

Sunday, July 21, 2024 at 3pm 

Suggested donation: $15 adults, $10 students and seniors, free for ages 13 and under

No reservations required.

The Olivia Chindamo Trio: A Juilliard Jazz Ensemble, 

Listen to an interview with WSKG’s Bill Snyder here.

Juilliard Jazz, under the leadership of director Wynton Marsalis, offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as artist diplomas. The department’s programming reflects the jazz continuum and its American vernacular roots, as well as the social and cultural vitality of the music. Juilliard Jazz ensembles play more than 50 on- and off-campus performances annually, including international tours, as well as performances at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Blue Note in New York City.

Olivia Chindamo, originally from Australia and now based in New York City, is celebrated for her exceptional vocal technique, versatility, and skillful scat singing. Drawing inspiration from the Great American Songbook, Olivia’s musicality nods to the great songstresses of the 1950s, in her own uniquely modern way. In 2021, she made history at The Juilliard School as its first-ever Masters Graduate of Jazz Voice. Chindamo has graced many prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club, Lincoln Center, and Birdland Jazz Club and collaborated with various world-renown orchestras including The Impossible Orchestra at Festival PAAX in Mexico in 2023, and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in 2024. 

Joining Chindamo are fellow Juilliard alums; Australian saxophonist Evan Harris, and Canadian jazz guitarist David Rourke. Our audience can expect to hear familiar repertoire from the Great American Songbook, some “B side” selections and a few of Olivia’s own original songs.

Olivia Chindamo is a New York-based jazz vocalist from Australia whose unique voice effortlessly carries and delivers stories and melodies with the highest level of integrity, honesty and musicianship. With a special love for improvisation, Olivia’s musical endeavours offer a fresh combination of old and new as she continually fuses an ever-expanding knowledge of jazz history with her modern sensibilities, impressive technique control and textural versatility. 

Having studied under the tutelage of some of America’s finest jazz musicians at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music in 2016, Olivia felt more drawn to the United States than ever before, inspiring her bold move to relocate to the other side of the world and fully pursue her love and passion for jazz music. Since her arrival, Olivia has performed extensively in the United States at various world-renown venues such as The Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club, The Lincoln Center and Birdland Jazz Club, and has toured internationally to Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland in recent years with her own projects and as a guest to others’. A 2023 highlight was performing for artistic director and legendary conductor Alondra De La Parra’s 2nd annual Festival PAAX GNP in Cancún, Mexico, where Olivia’s extraordinary vocal versatilities were spotlighted throughout the 10-day-long program. Performances included the Northern Hemisphere premiere of Fantaskatto: Fantasy for Voice & Orchestra, collaborations with world-renown choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and dancers from the New York City Ballet, The Impossible Orchestra, latin-jazz icon Paquito D’Rivera, and with her own jazz trio. 
 
Olivia is a 2021 Master of Music graduate of The Juilliard School, where she made history as its first ever jazz voice graduate student, and was honoured upon graduation with the Joseph W. Polisi prize for “Artist as Citizen” for her work as a jazz division student representative, Gluck Fellowship leader and Community leader for Juilliard International Students.

David Rourke is a NYC jazz guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree at McGill University in Montréal, David completed his studies with a master’s degree from The Juilliard School. In 2019, he won first place at an international guitar competition in Kraków, Poland. During his last semester at Juilliard, he released a full length album of original music in which he’s playing all the instruments/vocals, and produced himself. He is a full time jazz guitarist in NYC playing at all the major clubs like Smalls, Mezzrow, Dizzy’s, Ornithology and others. David has also been regularly releasing singles and performing his music at NYC venues (Rockwood, Arlene’s Grocery, PIANOS) with his band.

Evan Harris is a New York-based saxophonist whose passion for jazz has informed his “vividly evocative” (Words About Music) sound on the saxophone. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Evan has established himself with performance credits ranging from Miguel Zenon’s Identities are Changeable to the Wynton Marsalis Quintet. Evan has been acknowledged with accolades including the title of 2018 Young Australian Jazz Musician of the Year, a grant from the Arts Council of Australia, and the Gerry and Franca Mulligan Scholarship. Evan recently toured the United States with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Songs We Love” and appeared in Cancun, Mexico as a performer at Festival PAAX GNP.