Alicia Olatuja to bring jazz and female empowerment to UNC

Alicia Olatuja, a jazz vocalist, will bring a message of female empowerment to Carolina Performing Arts at UNC on Oct. 2. 

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Olatuja obtained her master's degree in Classical Voice and Opera from the Manhattan School of Music. She has been performing since her graduate school years. Through the years, she has continued to gain inspiration from the people around her by watching them do what they love, she said. 

What attracts many to artists such as Olatuja is the message in the music. She wants her music to inspire her audience to ask themselves hard questions, to look into who they truly are and to live a genuine life. Her message serves as a reminder for listeners to check that what is motivating them every day is something that reflects who they are.

“People should just live their truth," Olatuja said about her music’s message, particularly from her latest album.

Olatuja incorporates a variety of styles from the jazz genre. She arranges her music from songs by female composers such as Brena Russell, Tracy Chapman and Linda Creed. She is noted for inspiring feminism through her performances. Olatuja said, in this day, feminism can be interpreted in a variety of ways. 

"I more so think about (feminism) being female empowerment," Olatuja said. “To allow someone a platform to stand up, and who has something to say, be heard, and be valued for that, is empowering."

Olatuja said female empowerment does not involve taking away others' power, but rather brings people together. 

“The fabric of what we're trying to do, moving forward, it includes all of us,” Olatuja said.

Christina Rodriguez, associate director of marketing and communications for Carolina Performing Arts, said her team discovered Olatuja through connections of artists they’ve previously had at UNC. Olatuja caught their eye with her program that correlates with her latest album, "Intuition: Songs From The Minds Of Women." Rodriguez said what is so appealing to her is the subtitle of the album.

“It goes beyond that sort of gut instinct, but is a reminder that while women are intuitive beings, we’re also intellectuals and can harness the power of connecting the emotional to the rational," Rodriguez said.

That power is a key message in Olatuja’s vocals. Rodriguez said she wants students to know this is an amazing opportunity to be exposed to a successful and talented artist who communicates a powerful message through her music. 

Chris Pendergrass, artistic planning manager for Carolina Performing Arts, has been planning for the event since spring. 

"Students will be able to experience the music of a spectrum of iconic women singers and songwriters," Pendergrass said. 

Pendergrass described Olatuja’s way of delivering music to be through a “soulful lens." The show provides an opportunity for UNC students and faculty to experience jazz and potentially introduce the genre to people previously unfamiliar with it. 

This is one of the few jazz performances hosted by Carolina Performing Arts this coming fall, and is the first of the year, Rodriguez said. Olatuja will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the Moeser Auditorium in Hill Hall. Tickets are now available through Carolina Performing Arts. 

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