Pauline Oliveros
Composer-Performer
Founder of Deep Listening
"Through Pauline Oliveros and Deep Listening I finally know
what harmony is....It's about the pleasure of making music."
John Cage 1989
Pauline Oliveros, composer, performer and humanitarian is an important
pioneer in American Music. Acclaimed internationally, for four decades she has
explored sound -- forging new ground for herself and others. Through
improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation she has
created a body of work with such breadth of vision that it profoundly effects
those who experience it and eludes many who try to write about it.
"On some level, music, sound consciousness and religion are all one,
and she would seem to be very close to that level."
John Rockwell
Oliveros has been honored with awards, grants and concerts internationally.
Whether performing at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., in an
underground cavern, or in the studios of West German Radio, Oliveros'
commitment to interaction with the moment is unchanged. She can make the sound
of a sweeping siren into another instrument of the ensemble. Through Deep
Listening Pieces
and earlier Sonic Meditations Oliveros introduced the concept of
incorporating all environmental sounds into musical performance. To make a
pleasurable experience of this requires focused concentration, skilled
musicianship and strong improvisational skills, which are the hallmarks of
Oliveros' form. In performance Oliveros uses an accordion
which has been re-tuned in two different systems of her just intonation in addition to electronics to alter the
sound of the accordion and to explore the individual characteristics of each
room. (Tuning Chart)
Pauline Oliveros has built a loyal following through her concerts, recordings,
publications and musical compositions that
she has written for soloists and ensembles in music, dance, theater and
interarts companies. She has also provided leadership within the music
community from her early years as the first Director of the Center for
Contemporary Music (formerly the Tape Music Center at Mills), director of the
Center for Music Experiment during her 14 year tenure as professor of music at
the University of California at San Diego to acting in an advisory capacity for
organizations such as The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State
Council for the Arts, and many private foundations. She now serves as
Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
and Darius Milhaud Composer in Residence at Mills College. Oliveros has been
vocal about representing the needs of individual artists, about the need for
diversity and experimentation in the arts, and promoting cooperation and good
will among people.