Composer Pauline Oliveros is a maverick in the field of electronic music. Oliveros’ first instrument was the accordion; as a teenager in Texas sheplayed in a 100-piece accordion group that appeared at the rodeo. In 1949 she entered the University of Houston, but in 1952 transferred to SanFrancisco State College. Oliveros studied music privately with Robert Erickson and began to associate with a loose confederation of like-mindedcomposers; Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick among them. Oliveros was among the first composers to participate when Subotnick andRamon Sender founded the ...read more
Composer Pauline Oliveros is a maverick in the field of electronic music. Oliveros’ first instrument was the accordion; as a teenager in Texas sheplayed in a 100-piece accordion group that appeared at the rodeo. In 1949 she entered the University of Houston, but in 1952 transferred to SanFrancisco State College. Oliveros studied music privately with Robert Erickson and began to associate with a loose confederation of like-mindedcomposers; Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick among them. Oliveros was among the first composers to participate when Subotnick andRamon Sender founded the San Francisco Tape Center in 1961, and served as the Center’s director in the first year following its move to Mills College(1966-1967). Some of the pieces Oliveros created in the 1960s, such as Bye Bye Butterfly (1965) and I of IV (1966; created at the University ofToronto) are acknowledged as classics of electronic music. From the beginning Oliveros was not greatly interested in electronic tape and itsmanipulation, preferring to explore real-time electronics, interactivity, and the use of delays.In the early ’70s Oliveros began to amplify the theatrical aspect of her works, in addition to incorporating elements of her growing interests inspirituality and meditation. This touched off a series of pieces that emphasized intuition and consciousness among large masses of people. « hide
