Olivia Palmer-Baker is an Irish musician based in Berlin who specialises in contemporary, historical, and improvised music.

In her work, she explores the physical, social, and temporal experience of making music and sees herself as a performer who explores the volatile, chaotic, and vulnerable extremes of her instrument—the bassoon. Her artistic practice is characterized by the exploration of boundaries and uncertainty, as well as the juxtaposition of different aesthetics and media.

Highlights include the conception, production, and tour of je mets mon scaphandre for bassoon, ambisonics, and sound-reactive light (2024–25, UK/DE, funded by the Goethe-Institut's International Co-Production Fund, Hinrichsen Foundation), the conception and co-composition of SPELL with Kollektiv UNRUHE (2025, Klangwerkstatt Berlin), an upcoming masterclass for bassoon and electronics as part of the Bern Double Reed Days (2026, CH), and a collaboration with composer Michelle Lou, which will culminate in a new full-length work for Kontraforte and live processing (2027, DE).

Olivia performs internationally as a soloist on bassoon and contraforte. Highlights to date include Rondò 2021 (Divertimento Ensemble, Italy), the Aldeburgh Festival (UK), SONify Graz (Austria), and other solo performances in Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Hungary, and Germany. She also performs with numerous European ensembles for contemporary and historical music, including Ensemble Modern, Lautten Compagney, Ensemblekollektiv Berlin (member since 2025), Basel Sinfonietta, and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, and has performed as an improviser in many contexts, from Lichtblick Kino (Untergrün) to performances at the Berliner Dom.

As a member of the Berlin-based group Kollektiv UNRUHE, Olivia is jointly responsible for the creation and curation of concerts in Germany and abroad and is also active as a performer, improviser, and composer. Highlights include an upcoming collaboration with composer Bernat Pont Anglada as part of the JUNGE AKADEMIE, Akademie der Künste Berlin (2026).

Olivia previously studied in London (Royal Academy of Music), Berlin (University of the Arts), and Frankfurt (International Ensemble Modern Academy).