Olivia Howe is a Canadian soprano entering her fourth year of a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Performance at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

This past summer, Olivia was a Studio Artist with the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS program. There, she covered the role of Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte under the baton of Patrick Summers and the direction of Renée Fleming. She also performed scenes as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Gilda in Rigoletto.

At UBC, Olivia most recently appeared as Josephine in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. She also performed scenes from Massenet’s Manon with orchestra and participated in a masterclass with world-renowned tenor Javier Camarena. As a concert soloist, Olivia has appeared as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the UBC Symphony Orchestra and Choirs, in Mozart’s Coronation Mass with UBC Choirs, and in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra and Vancouver Bach Choir.

Olivia was awarded an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Montana/Idaho District) and was named a national semi-finalist in the Schmidt Undergraduate Vocal Competition.

Previous credits include Despina in Così fan tutte, Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, and Massenet’s Cendrillon with UBC Opera. She has also taken part in masterclasses with Russell Braun and Tracey Dahl.

Olivia is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards recognizing both academic and artistic excellence. These include the Sonya and Charlotte Wall Award, the S. Cyril Maplethorp Memorial Scholarship, the David Spencer Endowment Fund Scholarship, the Nancy Hermiston Scholarship, and the Norah Mansell Music Scholarship. Most recently, she was honored with a scholarship from the Vancouver Opera Guild and a bursary from the Toni and Hildegard Cavelti Foundation Fund through Vancouver Opera.