About

Anna Maria Olsson is a Thai-Swedish violinist and composer with a niche for writing and performing music for live multitrack violin. Using Ableton Live and MIDI pedals to loop and transform the sounds of her acoustic instrument, Anna creates cinematic soundscapes and lyrical melodies inspired by the natural world.

Anna began studying the violin at the age of 7 in Stockholm and later also learned the piano and viola. At the age of 18, she moved to the UK to study violin at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where she also started composing music for violin and electronics. During her final year, she self-released her debut album Crossing Lines (2016), which draws on a variety of genres in order to showcase the violin as a highly versatile instrument. The album caught the attention of BBC Introducing and led to multiple radio broadcasts and a live performance on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune in August 2018.

Upon finishing her BMus, Anna was offered a scholarship to study a Master’s in composition at the same institution. Notable works during her studies include The Woodcarver (2017) commissioned for the Emulsion V Festival and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, as well as multiple co-composed moving image works performed at the Flatpack Film Festival in the form of live cinema.

In June 2019, Anna released her second album Circles, themed around the circulation of time and the cyclic elements in our natural environment. Inspired by minimalism and film soundtracks, the release takes on an ambient and cinematic vibe reminiscent of Nils Frahm and Max Richter. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Anna was commissioned by London-based label and publisher Sister Music to write a piece of music about being in isolation with a sense of hope for a better future. The resulting work, Resolution, was released in March 2021 on Sister Music’s collaborative album Isolation Textures II: Hope.

In the spring of 2021, Anna decided to relocate to Chiang Mai, Thailand - a city of art, music and culture. She has since been working on both local and international projects involving contemporary dance, sound art, theatre, film, games and innovation.