The American soprano Olivia Miller, lauded for her “shimmering…unwavering…resonant” voice, has an international reputation as a Baroque specialist and chamber ensemble singer. Growing up in Saint Charles, Illinois, she knew from a young age that German was her native singing language. Following her participation in the Weimar Bach Cantata Academies in 2017 and 2018 (her first visits in Germany), led by Helmuth Rilling, she developed an ardent motivation to work as a singer in German-speaking countries and, above all, to perform and experience the music of Johann Sebastian Bach at the highest level. Abandoning an established presence in the Boston early music scene, she dared to make a new start by moving to Leipzig in autumn 2021.

In light of this motivation, Olivia was especially elated by her first performances with the Thomanerchor Leipzig and the Gewandhausorchester, under the direction of Thomaskantor Andreas Reize, as a soloist in the Cantata BWV 181 as part of the “Bach300” project, with performances in the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig. In addition to performances of Bach Cantatas with Thomasorganist Johannes Lang in the Thomaskirche Leipzig, the Bachchor in Arnstadt and the Magdeburger Kantatenchor, Olivia Miller is a welcome guest as a soloist with various central German ensembles such as the Collegium Vocale Leipzig (Schubert “Mass in C Major;” Der Knabe in Mendelssohn “Elias”), Musik in Peter-Paul Sebnitz (Michael Haydn “Requiem in c;” Matthias Drude "Wir können mit dir unser Leben wagen"), the Sächsische Solistenvereinigung (Schumann “Der Rose Pilgerfahrt”), and the Saalfelder Kammerchor (Reger Chorale Cantata No. 2). She gave her solo debut at the Händelfestspiele in Halle (Saale), performing two solo cantatas from Vivaldi in the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen.

Having established herself among the most renowned North American ensembles, including Boston Baroque, Emmanuel Music, Handel + Haydn Society, Ensemble Altera and the Boston Early Music Festival, both as a soloist and small ensemble member, Olivia quickly found herself at home in numerous solo ensembles and chamber choirs throughout Germany: she sang in one-per-part ensemble formation with Capella di Fontana (Schein “Israelsbrünnlein”), Trauerräume Ensemble (Schütz, Hammerschmidt, Ward), Capelli St. Pauli (Schütz, Schein, Scheidt), Bach Consort Leipzig (Bach Motet BWV 227), the Dresdner Kammerchor (Bach Motet BWV 227), AuditivVokal (contemporary premieres), Sing&Sign (Bach and Schütz; singing combined with sign language), and Gellert Ensemble (Moniuszko “Requiem aeternam”). She is also a guest in the ensembles of Collegium Musicum '23, Rheinische Kantorei, Gaechinger Cantorey, Semperoper Dresden, Warsaw Chamber Opera; and in the Vocalconsort Berlin, with whom she made her first appearances on the German opera stage in the extensive and highly demanding choral part of Arnold Schönberg's “Moses and Aron” at the Theater Bonn.

In addition to her appearances throughout Germany and in other European countries (at the Musikverein in Vienna, AT, and churches in Prague and Litomyšl, CZ; Gdańsk and Warsaw, PL; and Vilnius, LT), Olivia Miller returns to North America for soloist and ensemble appearances at the Oregon Bach Festival. In 2023 she sang as a soloist in Bach “Magnificat” and Cantata BWV 22 under the direction of Jos van Veldhoven, and in previous summers she was featured as Ancilla in Bach “St. Matthew Passion,” and in the Trio in Mendelssohn “Elijah,” conducted by John Nelson. Since her move abroad she also returned to Boston for solo appearances with Boston Baroque (Vivaldi "Gloria") and Emmanuel Music (Bach Cantata BWV 1).

Her vocal training includes a Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College (IL) and a Master of Music degree from The Florida State University. Olivia pursued training in Baroque music as the Soprano Emerging Artist at the inaugural Bach Akademie Charlotte, as well as at the Opera Programs Berlin Historical Performance Program, Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Amherst Early Music Festival, Nahant Music Festival, and International Baroque Institute at Longy. Her voice teachers include Susanne Krumbiegel, Dr. Wanda Brister, Denise Gamez, Dr. Carolyn Hart, and Michelle Areyzaga; Kathy Romey, choir director and Olivia's mentor, has had and continues to have a profound influence on her life.