Liesl Olson, Violin
Raise your hand if you already knew there is a man-made island between Oakland and Alameda Island! It’s called Coast Guard Island—it’s 67 acres and only about 1,200 people get to live there. That’s where Liesl lives, as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard. How did she get there and play violin at the same time?
Liesl grew up in Los Gatos and started violin lessons at age 4. “My mom loved classical music and wanted string players in the family (sorry winds),” she says. She had lessons and played in school orchestras through high school. She also played in the youth-based Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, conducted by…Eric Hansen! One day, as she was leaving rehearsal, well, there’s just no good way to put it: she ran over her violin. “I brought it to Eric and it was just in smithereens. I was devastated.” It probably wasn’t causal, but she switched to viola, “because I really like the deeper tones.”
At UC Santa Barbara, Liesl thought about majoring in viola, but settled on biology instead. After graduation, she worked for a time as an enologist in a lab tech at a winery. And then the Coast Guard called. “I like the mission: saving lives and protecting the environment. It’s a feel-good mission.” She enlisted, entered the Reserves, attended ROCI (Reserve Officer Candidate Indoctrination), and then started her active-duty career. An early billet was on a boat out of Hawaii. Without violin or viola. “It’s not easy to play on a boat! But someone on the boat was selling a violin for $50, so I bought and played it, just for myself.” And realized that while her ears loved the viola’s lower tones, her hands loved the violin neck and body more.
Liesl now works in waterways management, based on Coast Guard Island. You know those gigantic wind turbines you see off the coast? She works with companies to place turbines in specific areas, to keep shipping lanes open—from Morro Bay through Oregon. “The ocean shelf drops off really fast along our coast, so the technology, and placement, is much harder than it is in Europe, where they have many more turbines.”
Plus, Liesl now has access to Prometheus and, once again, Eric Hansen. “I love playing in an orchestra again. And this orchestra is such a high level, it’s really fun.”
The Coast Guard moves its officers about every three years. “I’ve put in for a billet in San Francisco next, so I hope to continue playing with Prometheus for at least a few more years.” We’re on pins and needles here! Attention Commandant of the USCG Linda Fagan (the first woman in American history to lead a military service, no less): Please give Liesl the SF billet so she can continue to play with us! There. That should do it; Liesl we’re thrilled to have you for many more years.
~ Joyce Vollmer
