About Artemisia
THE TRIO
Chicago-based vocal theater ensemble Artemisia (Diana Lawrence, Alexandra Olsavsky, Kaitlin Foley) harnesses the power of the voice to tell female-forward stories through the rich vocal traditions of the world.
Praised for “sincerity, wit, and mind-blowing technique” (Vocal Arts Chicago) and for encouraging audiences to "celebrate the eternal feminine" (Robert McBride, All Classical Public Media), Artemisia brings diversity and accessibility to their programming. Not your typical stand-and-sing ensemble, Artemisia draws from a vast repertoire of classical, folk and popular vocal styles to create concert experiences that pose questions and invite dialogue through female-forward and community-oriented themes.
Artemisia actively participates in cross-sector performance design, recently featured as guest performers for the Wellbeing concert series at Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. Collaborating with Alysia Lee, Founder and Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir, and Matthew Steinfeld, PHD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, the ensemble co-designed an experience focused on mindfulness and musical practices for healthcare workers in New York City.
Dedicated to championing the works of living female-identifying composers, Artemisia frequently commissions and performs new compositions. Their latest staged concert program, "She Was," which shines a spotlight on overlooked female figures from history and the storytellers that amplify their legacy, includes commissions from Kyong Mee Choi, Hope Littwin, Rochelle Rice, Jess Godwin, and Jori Pilcher, along with premiere compositions from all three Artemisia members. Artemisia has also recently undergone composition residencies with the Chicago Composers Consortium and Amherst College, and looks forward to continued collaborations in the coming seasons.
All three members of the group compose and publish new works of treble voice repertoire. Notably, the group’s original composition “What Happens When a Woman” has been performed by over 1,500 ensembles worldwide, and continues to be shared with new audiences every season.
Beyond their performances, Artemisia is committed to providing educational programming to community and youth ensembles, fostering cultural literacy through singing, creative songwriting, and the promotion of female empowerment.
KAITLIN FOLEY
Kaitlin Foley, soprano, has “emerged as one of the truly great musicians of this city” (Vocal Arts Chicago). With her “vocal gleam and fiery dramatic involvement” (Chicago Classical Review) and her “absolute technical security” (John von Rhein), Ms. Foley is a versatile performer with an ear for early and new music. She is passionate about both choral and solo singing, and has sung with the Haymarket Opera Company, Grant Park Chorus, Third Coast Baroque, Ensemble Dal Niente, and the new, 6-voice treble ensemble under the Voces8 umbrella, Lyyra. She is a founding member of the genre-bending vocal theater ensemble Artemisia, for which she also composes and arranges. Foley recently debuted as a soloist with the Grant Park Chorus and Orchestra on Schubert’s Mass in G. Through various cultural exchange programs including Village Harmony and SongRoots, she has studied non-Western vocal traditions in Corsica, Republic of Georgia, Cuba, and Appalachia. She achieved her M.M. in Voice Performance from DePaul University and completed her undergraduate work in music education at the University of Missouri. Ms. Foley equally enjoys teaching and performing, and directs various choirs and teaches voice at North Park University, Merit School of Music, Women of Note, and Evanston Township High School.
DIANA LAWRENCE
Singer, pianist, songwriter and music director, Diana Lawrence, makes a habit of the unexpected, working across genres and disciplines to tell essential human stories from a unique musical point of view. Diana was commissioned to write original music for Steppenwolf Theatre’s 2016 premiere of Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe, with recent commissions coming from Chicago Tap Theatre and North Shore Choral Society. She is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop (winner of the 2021 Jerry Harrington Award) and her musical, Mill Girls, was granted a 2018/19 Incubator workshop at the O’Neill Theatre Center. Diana & the Dishes, her original pop-soul project, has shared the stage with artists such as Nellie McKay and Becca Stevens, and the band’s recent releases were produced by Rob Kleiner (Sia, Andra Day). As a music director, pianist and improviser, Diana has worked with The Second City, the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, the American Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and the seminal spoken-word event, the Uptown Poetry Slam.
Diana’s work is grounded in the belief that music should empower under-represented voices. From 2014-2019, she was a music director, composer and teaching artist with Storycatchers Theatre, a company that creates original musical theatre with incarcerated youth. As a keyboardist for Grammy Award winner, Tim Kubart, Diana has toured far and wide performing for kids and families.
ALEXANDRA OLSAVSKY
Alexandra Olsavsky, a “beautifully voiced” soprano (Herald-Times, Bloomington Early Music), is a collaborative musical artist based in Chicago who performs with a diverse array of artistic ensembles, including those specializing in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, theatrical works, world music, chamber works, and newly composed music.
Notable credits include an international debut with Italy’s acclaimed early music fusion ensemble, La Chimera (Eduardo Egüez) performing the works of John Dowland; multiple tours with Concerts for Hope founder Eric Genuis; and the (re)creation of the role of Peggy in a Bach + Beethoven Experience production of Allan Ramsay’s Scottish folk opera, The Gentle Shepherd, last seen in North America in 1798.
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Alex lays claim to successful careers in both nonprofit management and web development, and is currently studying to become a Speech Language Pathologist. She is a mother of two incredible little boys and spends every minute that she can giggling with her family.
