Meet the Musicians: Olivia Chew

Olivia Chew once thought the title of “doctor” struck the right note. But as she sat in her pre-med university courses, she discovered she was more in tune elsewhere. “I found myself kind of dreading my chemistry and biology classes and kept being drawn back to the music school,” said the Seattle Symphony violist.

Despite a lifelong love of playing classical music and a desire to do so professionally, Chew reasoned it made sense to study the sciences — just in case. “I purposely went to a university so that I would have the option to do something not musical,” she said. A fellow musician’s advice changed her course. “[They said] you can’t have a ‘Plan B.’ If you’re going to do this, you have to put your whole heart into it, that you can’t think about what could happen if you failed, and that really stuck with me.” With this new perspective, Chew forged a path with various orchestras, accepting a role at the Seattle Symphony just a month before COVID-19 struck. As she watched the health crisis unfold, she realized she could help heal despite not working in healthcare. “When people were stuck at home, what were they doing? They were looking for entertainment, for comfort. That’s what people needed. And we got to play a vital role in that regard. So, no, I have no regrets about my path. None at all.”

Born in Long Island and a longtime resident of Rochester, Chew and her husband uprooted and moved from New York to Seattle during the pandemic, driving cross-country with their “naughty” polydactyl cat, Ernie. Since arriving in the Pacific Northwest, Chew has discovered a love of outdoor culture and has started running and biking. “I’ve never lived in a place where it’s okay to be outside all the time. There are, like, 10 bearable days on the East Coast. I totally get why the outdoors is a thing out here.” When they’re not enjoying being outside, Chew and her husband get cozy inside — they’ve watched a movie every night of the pandemic. “So, yeah, we’ve gone through a lot of movies,” she said. Classics such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard have become favorites, with their distinctive musical scores.