Olivia Shortt
Olivia Shortt works as a multi-disciplinary artist in music, theatre and video art based in Toronto, Canada. Shortt is an Indigenous (Anishinaabe) off-reservation member of Nipissing First Nation and of Irish descent through their mother. The CBC named them as one of “6 Indigenous composers you need to know in 2024”. Iconic moments include appearing and playing saxophone on CBC Kids’ ‘Gary the Unicorn’, performing in Atom Egoyan’s 2019 film ‘Guest of Honour’ and lending their voice off-screen in Stephen King’s film ‘In the Tall Grass’ and Season 3 of ‘Chucky’. Highlights as a saxophonist and performer: The Whitney Biennial (NYC), The Holland Festival (Amsterdam) and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (Washington).
Recent projects and works created over the last few years include commissions from UltraViolet (Edmonton), the Blueridge Chamber Festival (Vancouver), Long Beach Opera (California), the JACK Quartet (NYC), and Din of Shadows (Toronto).
As a sound designer, Shortt has worked with artists such as Olivia C. Davies (Ottawa), Ange Loft (Centaur Theatre, Montreal), and All My Relations Collective (NYC), and participated in the Associated Designers of Canada Mentorship program with Debashis Sinha at The Stratford Festival. Recently, Shortt was the Artist-in-Residence at the Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto (2023-2024), and Carlton University (2024), and is the inaugural Artist-in-Resident for 2025-26 at the Indigenous Creation Studio, University of Toronto Mississauga. Shortt is a graduate of Dartmouth College.