Renée Olo’s interests lie in the often-private musical culture of Early Modern women and the evolution of women’s roles in public music-making. More specifically, she is interested in the shifting attitudes towards female vocal performance and professionalism in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Western Europe as influenced by the musical practices of high-class courtesans as well as the cultural interchange between the royal courts of France and Ferrara.
Prior to arriving at Penn, Renée earned a Bachelor of Music degree in History and Theory with an additional focus on Renaissance Studies from the University of Toronto in 2020 where she studied piano under Nancy Sicsic. In addition to her studies, she served as an alto choral scholar in the Trinity College chapel choir for four years and performed widely within the Toronto Early Music scene.