Olivia Sletteland is a versatile freelance percussionist, arts administrator, and music educator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Recent and upcoming performances include La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Heartland Marimba, Opera Reading Project, St. Paul Civic Orchestra, and several other ensembles and projects. Additionally, Olivia is a founding member of Left/Right Percussion, a Minneapolis-based percussion duo performing the music of living/recent composers. 

In addition to performing, Olivia is the Operations Manager for the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra and the Marketing Director for the Saint John’s Boys’ Choir. As an educator, Olivia currently works as the drumline instructor for UW-La Crosse’s Screaming Eagles Marching Band and as a front ensemble instructor for Eastview High School Marching Band and River City Rhythm Indoor Drumline. 

Olivia received her Master’s of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia with Dr. Megan Arns and Dr. Julia Gaines where she was a graduate assistant for the Mizzou New Music Initiative and percussion studio and a performing member of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Percussion Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she studied with Dr. Jeffery Crowell. Outside of her formal studies Olivia has studied at the Neif Norf summer new music festival and worked with master musicians including Musekiwa Chingodza, Othnell Moyo, and Fodé Bangoura.

Olivia is a proud endorser of Artifact Percussion. 

In her free time, Olivia loves to hike and explore the outdoors with her partner.