Olivia Underwood is a British-Japanese composer, singer-songwriter and pianist based in the UK. Born in Tokyo, she spent much of her childhood between Japan and the UK before studying piano, singing and flute at the Purcell School. 

​

She went on to complete both a BA and MA at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria, specialising in classical performance and improvisation. Alongside her studies, she performed as both a soloist and chamber musician, appearing at venues including Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre.

​

Although originally trained as a classical pianist, Olivia’s artistic practice expanded to include composition, where she found a natural outlet for her interest in storytelling and creative expression. She went on to study as a postgraduate at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London within the Electronic & Produced Music department, with a focus on composition for film and animation.

​

While working across a variety of media, she remained rooted in acoustic and piano-led sound worlds, exploring the relationship between music, narrative and spoken word through original stories and settings of poetry.

​

Her scores have accompanied short films screened at film festivals, including the British Short Film Awards, where Colourful White was nominated for both Best Student Short Film and Best Animated Short Film in 2025. She has also composed works performed at the National Gallery, Courtauld Gallery and the Barbican Centre.​

​

Olivia’s search for a more personal artistic voice gradually led her back to songwriting and singing. She created and performed a choral work based on the Japanese poem Bamboo by Hagiwara Sakutaro at Milton Court Concert Hall, renewing her focus on her Japanese heritage, language and literary traditions.​ She is currently developing an EP based on the different strands of her musical life. 

​