Olivia Dance was born in Oxford and began piano lessons at the age of eight. Performing in festivals, competitions and concerts during her childhood in Oxfordshire further inspired her to pursue music. She is currently in her final year of postgraduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying under the tutelage of Professor Stephen Savage.

When she joined the RNCM, she was assigned a teaching placement which gave her the opportunity to teach one-to-one piano in an inner-city primary school. She was so touched by this small school in Moss Side that in the Summer of 2017, she approached the teachers of the school with an idea to form their own school choir. Olivia led weekly sessions with the choir from 2017-2019, whilst also providing the musical accompaniment to their songs. The choir went on to play a pivotal role in a fundraising concert for their school.

In May 2018, Olivia appeared at the Wigmore Hall to perform Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Two Elegies Framing a Shout, and in January 2019 she travelled to Bergen to perform a recital of Norwegian song.

Olivia is excited to be a pianist for SoundUp and is grateful to have been supported by an RNCM scholarship and bursary.