We were lucky to catch up with Olivia Hughart recently and have shared our conversation below.
Olivia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I am the founder and artistic director of “Key of She Jazz,” an organization devote to supporting and encouraging more girls and non binary students to play jazz starting a middle school level.
When I was a middle school student I noticed I was one of the only girls in my jazz band, and I wanted to be proactive about creating more opportunities for girls who felt similarly to me.
Olivia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started playing jazz when I was a middle schooler and got into the school jazz band. My parents also love jazz and used to wake my older brother and me up in the morning with their favorite artists. I grew up in the Philadelphia area, starting my jazz career in the public schools. I also found extracurricular jazz programs, such as Settlement Music School, a local music school in the Philadelphia area. I got to work with incredible musicians in the Philly music scene and got a lot of great experience working with students who had been at it a little longer than I had. It was a great experience that pushed me to work harder and continue to learn about the music. My high school jazz band was also a big inspiration to my musical journey, and ultimately inspired me to pursue music at a collegiate level.
I ended up at NYU majoring in jazz studies on saxophone with a minor in public policy in management. Throughout my college career, I found my passion in playing jazz music and composing nonet music (for 9 piece jazz ensembles). I continued with my initiative, Key of She Jazz, and now continue to make music daily.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I would love to see a more universal musical community that supports and encourages more girls and non binary students to be involved in jazz. With my organization, Key of She Jazz, we strive to foster supportive environments free of judgement for people to come together and play music. This goal and mission drives everything I do- from playing jam sessions, to writing music, being on the scene– I would love for everyone to have this experience
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think supporting one another goes a long way. Artists can help support artists/creatives by doing the little things– showing up for one another at festivals, gigs, performances, they can also share and help promote new news on social media.
With streaming services becoming so relevant, I think it can also be stressed to support our artists by purchasing the album vs listening to it on Spotify. Artists and creatives work so hard and it is often glossed over. It would be a thrilling experience to everyone to support artists monetarily. 
Contact Info:
- Website: oliviahughart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohughart_music/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093078521245
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@oliviahughartmusic6482
Image Credits
Anthony Dean Manasa Gudavalli Mike Smith