Katherine Olsen, Founder of Encompass Arts
Well Canto Conversation
If you want something done, the saying goes, ask a busy person. Katherine Olsen, Founder of Encompass Arts, is one of those perpetual-motion power people who gets things done, and has for the past four decades.
I first met Kathy on the audition circuit in the early 1990s when we were both youngsters. She was everywhere, at every audition, playing for whomever needed a competent accompanist and she never said “no” unless she was already booked. Actually, it did seem that sometimes she managed to break the laws of physics to be in two places at once. Beyond auditions, Kathy accompanied, coached, taught, administrated, and ultimately opened her own artist management company, Encompass Arts. Check out her bio here:
Something else that impressed me as a young woman is that Kathy worked straight through her pregnancy without slowing down. (Later on I experienced something similar in my own life and career, and I thought of her perseverance often!) One happy result is that her daughter, Jennifer, is now an experienced and effective Artist Manager at Encompass Arts.
Ever the gracious human, Kathy found time to answer some questions for this Well Canto Conversation. Enjoy her pithiness, and then get to work!