The OK Factor: New-Classical Crossover

New-Classical Crossover, Folk

The OK Factor: New-Classical Crossover is a curated mix of Olivia and Karla’s original, folk-inspired compositions influenced by multiple genres, as well as audience favorites such as ‘Shenandoah,’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and vocal tunes such as Bob Dylan’s ‘You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome’. Olivia and Karla share their experiences with these tunes and their creation from the stage as a point of connection with audiences, inviting them to experience the music’s vulnerability and hear their own stories reflected in it.

Olivia Diercks, cello, vocals, ukulele
Karla Colahan, violin, vocals, ukulele

Playful and unexpected, new-classical crossover duo The OK Factor writes and performs folk-inspired music influenced by multiple genres, with an artistry that reveals their classical training. Cellist Olivia Diercks and violinist Karla Colahan find great joy in defying expectations and delivering an experience outside of what audiences anticipate from a cello and violin combo. Organic and genuine, their original compositions feel both comfortingly familiar and uniquely fresh, and have been described as “genre-bending” (Julie Amacher, MPR) and “pure magic” (Wausau Pilot & Review). The ease with which they write and perform and their passion for educational outreach has caught the attention of the Minnesota music community in which they live and work, as recipients of a 2024 Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Education Grant, and a 2020 Scandinavian Folk Arts and Cultural Traditions Fellowship through the American Scandinavian Foundation. Olivia and Karla invite audiences to explore music and cultivate a curiosity about its role in their lives.

“Pure magic.” — WAUSAU PILOT & REVIEW

www.theokfactor.com