March Student Spotlight: Olivia Williams

Meet our March 2023 Student Spotlight honoree – bassist Olivia Williams. Olivia is a student of Paul Tokarz and a member of the incredibly talented student band “Alright.” Paul nominated Olivia because she has progressed very quickly, despite only taking lessons for about a year. He says of Olivia “she has a very positive attitude and always comes to the lesson ready to learn. She works hard on technique to learn some very difficult songs and likes a variety of music from grunge/metal to R&B. Read on to learn more about Olivia…

What do you study and why did you pick that instrument?

I’ve been playing bass for about a year now and I picked it because I love the sound and was inspired by bass lines from my favorite songs.

Who is your teacher and what do you love about them?

My teacher is Paul and I love how he teaches me any song I want to learn and always helps me with technique. Our lessons are always fun!

What kind of music do like to listen to or play? Recent favorite artist?

I like almost all genres of music, but recently I’ve been listening to Frank Ocean a lot.

What’s your favorite thing about Stages or do you have a favorite Stages memory?

My favorite Stages memory is the band program and performing at the end. Songwriting camp was also really fun and a great way to experience recording music. 

What are your musical goals? What is one of your non-music related goals?

A musical goal of mine is to get better and writing my own bass lines. My non-music related goal is to do well in school. 

Congratulations Olivia on this well-deserved recognition! We can’t wait to see where your musical journey will take you!