One can’t help but get energized when listening to Olivia Castriota talk about her musical career and her dreams for a future in it. With the release of her first album – All at Once – she’s off to a great start.

She was active in vocal music at Susquehannock, singing in choir and select ensemble. She also performed with the jazz band and frequently sang the national anthem at sporting events, where she was a cheerleader. Olivia also participated in the Big Buddy program and wrote for Mr. Hallman’s poetry magazine.

She remembers performing in school musicals as important to her development as a performer. “Being involved in musicals was a great learning experience,” she reflects. “It taught me that putting on a fantastic performance doesn’t just happen overnight and there are a lot of moving parts that go into it.” Her SHS performance highlight was playing the role of Marian in Music Man.

Looking back at her academic career, she credits Mrs. Roat, Mrs. Fassnacht, and Mr. Hallman for inspiring her to work hard toward set goals and for making her want to do something important.

After graduation, she attended York College as a Mass Communications major. While there, she sang in the school’s vocal ensemble, Rhapsody. In 2012, she took up residence in New York City with the dream of making a living as a performing musician. When the harsh reality of life set in (i.e. bills and student loans) she found herself in what she disdainfully describes as “some office job staring at a computer screen for eight hours a day.”

Hating what she was doing with her life after a few years, Olivia did what few have the courage to do in similar situations; she took a chance and quit with no real back-up plan.

One of her first ventures was appearing at the Apollo Theatre’s Amateur Night. She did well, placing third in the competition and was asked back, although she remembers the experience as one of the most terrifying of her life. “If the audience of 1,200 doesn’t like you, they literally boo you off the stage,” she explains. “The guy before me lasted seven seconds.”

Being recognized as a new and promising talent, she got a few gigs as a concert opener for established R & B and hip-hop bands. But as she auditioned around the city, she became aware of the need to show a product and demonstrate range. It was then that she decided to produce an album, using the start-up site, INDIEGOGO to raise funds.

Putting together a band, designing an album cover, and overseeing production, were challenges, but she was determined. The music is all original, except for one tune written for her by her brother and fellow Warrior, Toby Bonitz. She remembers her first thought of producing a solo album while at choir practice. She describes seeing it actually happen 10 years later as “absolutely awesome.”

She survives in the city like most struggling musicians there, with “about a dozen part-time jobs,” including pet-sitting, bar-tending, and back-up singing for other performers.

As the next step, she looks to being picked up by a label and continuing concert performances with her ten-piece band.

Here are some clips of her performances:

I Wanna Know music video:

ABC News Live Performance;

Live from Center Stage

Thanks to Olivia Castriota, Class of 2008, for making us Warrior Proud