WVCSD Artist of the Week: Olivia Samberg

In the latest installment of the Warwick Valley Central School District’s Artist of the Week series, the school district highlighted Warwick Valley High School senior Olivia Samberg, who first became interested in music because of her siblings — a brother who plays cello and a sister who sings. According to the school, Samberg fell in love with music and picked up the cello herself in elementary school. Eight years later, Samberg is a cello section leader, a member of the Meistersingers, a NYSSMA and OCMEA honoree, and a four-time WVHS Grammy Awards winner. Orchestra teacher Elissa Maynard calls her one of the most multi-talented students she has ever worked with.

“Olivia is an exceptional cellist and the section leader of our Chamber Orchestra. She’s also a phenomenal singer-songwriter,” said Maynard. “I truly love Olivia and her sense of humor. She can light up the room and also command seriousness at the same time.”

Besides being a peer leader in the high school orchestra, Samberg has also been selected to regional and statewide ensembles. This year, based on an outstanding audition, she was selected to the OCMEA All-County Chorus. OCMEA also awarded Samberg with a $500 scholarship for students planning to pursue careers in music education. She was also an alternate to the NYSSMA All-State Jazz Choir.

“I’m an alto and a soprano and I sing classical and jazz,” Samberg said. “Classical is definitely more strict but jazz is more improv because you can scat and just feel the music.”

In addition to her music courses, she is also a member of the Studio Music Club with Maynard where she experiments with music production, recording, and her songwriting skills.

“She plays piano and has written and released a few songs,” Maynard said. “The first time I heard one of her original songs, I was floored by her talent.”

Samberg has even submitted her recordings for the WVHS Grammy Awards and won Best Female Vocalist, Song of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year two years in a row.

She incorporates her self-taught guitar and piano skills into her music and loves the softer acoustic sound that those instruments offer. Artists like Adele, Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie Abrams are a few of her favorites and she admires the effortless sound of their music.

She is also still a part of the drama club, which is producing “Legally Blonde” this year. Samberg will be playing the role of Vivian.

Samberg plans to go to school for music education. “I want to work toward being a professor because I really want to work with people who love what they do. But I have a feeling I’m going to end up falling in love with the little kids. I’d also love to do private lessons on the side.”

As Samberg prepares to further her passion for music, she offers advice to students who are also exploring their own music interests.

“Stick with it,” she said. “It makes you really well rounded and you will have so many opportunities to make a career out of it. It can be hard because not everyone believes there’s a future in music but if you really love it, do it. I had to make that decision for myself as a junior when I was seriously considering the medical field. But I realized that music is what I loved to do and I decided to go for it.”