About

OLEA

‍Kate Kilgus, Clarinet

Alayne Honaker, Violin
Marissa Kerbel, Piano

“Not only inspiring, but refreshing” (I Care if You Listen), OLEA builds connections through audience interaction as well as thoughtful selection of repertoire and venue. By emphasizing performance in community gathering spaces, OLEA presents the opportunity for both performer-audience interaction as well as intercommunity dialogue. Founded in 2021, OLEA is dually based in Chicago and Cincinnati, presenting performances in each city every season. Members include Kate Kilgus (clarinet), Alayne Honaker (violin), and Marissa Kerbel (piano). OLEA’s members hold degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Lawrence University, and Kenyon College.

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. 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 premier 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 Avaloch Farm Music Institute (2022), the Decoda Chamber Music Festival (2022), and the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute (2025), and has performed at New Music Chicago’s ImpromptuFest (2023) and the Price Hill Music Festival (2023). 

Since its inception, the importance of new music and creative collaboration has remained at the center of OLEA’s artistic vision. This season OLEA is embracing the spirit of collaboration by joining forces with artists including La Caccina (vocal ensemble) and Annie McAllister (soprano, composer). OLEA’s upcoming season will feature several new works commissioned by the ensemble including pieces by Jaime García-Añoveros, Jacy Pedersen, Owen Hopper, Brad Balliet, and Annie McAllister.