"Not only inspiring, but refreshing"
(I Care If You Listen)

OLEA Ensemble

‍Kate Kilgus, Clarinet

Alayne Honaker, Violin
Marissa Kerbel, Piano

“Not only inspiring, but refreshing” (I Care if You Listen), OLEA Ensemble envisions a future in which the transformative power of chamber music can be used as a model for healthy connection and collaboration in all facets of society. A trio of clarinet, violin, and piano, OLEA’s mission is to foster community connections through innovative curation of new music. Founded in 2021, OLEA is dually based in Chicago and Cincinnati, performing regularly across the Midwest. 

By presenting music through themes that are universal yet personally relatable, OLEA aims to make classical music and new music relevant to 21st century audiences. OLEA Ensemble’s 2025-2026 season celebrated community and relationships through music and featured newly commissioned works by Shane Scott Cook, Annie Barr McAllister, Jacy Pedersen, Owen Hopper, Brad Balliett, and Christopher Jessup. In the fall of 2024, OLEA was the Artist in Residence at SOS ART in Cincinnati where they developed a project called “Contemplations on Democracy” which explored the intersection of art and politics, serving as both an interactive musical performance and a Get Out the Vote initiative. For this project, they collaborated with local poets and visual artists to provide a diverse set of perspectives on socio-political issues. 

Other recent projects include: “Yeehaw: American Folk Traditions” (2024) which incorporated music from traditions such as jazz, Appalachian fiddle, and ragtime; the commission and premiere of Owen Hopper’s “Wind Blows Lotus Leaves” (2023) alongside live demonstrations of the Tai Chi movements which inspired the composition; and “Summer Dreams” (2023) which explored the sounds of dreams from a fantastical storyline of a deep sleep to the shimmering texture of a daydream. OLEA has completed residencies at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills (2026), the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute (2025), Avaloch Farm Music Institute (2022), and the Decoda Chamber Music Festival (2022), and has performed at New Music Chicago’s ImpromptuFest (2023) and the Price Hill Music Festival (2023).

OLEA’s members hold degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Lawrence University, and Kenyon College.