Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American compose… Read Full Bio ↴Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer and accordionist who was a central figure in the development of experimental and post-war electronic art music.
She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the 1960s, and served as its director. She has taught music at Mills College, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Oliveros has written books, formulated new music theories and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "Deep Listening" and "sonic awareness". She was an Eyebeam resident.
Composer Pauline Oliveros is a maverick in the field of electronic music. Oliveros' first instrument was the accordion; as a teenager in Texas she played in a 100-piece accordion group that appeared at the rodeo. In 1949 she entered the University of Houston, but in 1952 transferred to San Francisco State College. Oliveros studied music privately with Robert Erickson and began to associate with a loose confederation of like-minded composers; Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick among them. Oliveros was among the first composers to participate when Subotnick and Ramon 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 of Toronto) are acknowledged as classics of electronic music. From the beginning Oliveros was not greatly interested in electronic tape and its manipulation, 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 in spirituality and meditation. This touched off a series of pieces that emphasized intuition and consciousness among large masses of people. During this time Oliveros temporarily abandoned systems of notation, instruments, and even the use of electronics. By 1975, however, Oliveros had rediscovered her accordion and began to compose drone pieces with voice, among the earliest being Horse Sings From Cloud. In the mid-'80s, Oliveros began to develop EIS (the Expanded Instrument System) utilizing early digital electronic music technology. In 1988 Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, and vocalist Panaoitis formed the Deep Listening Band, which debuted playing in an empty two-million gallon water tank located at Fort Worden in Washington State; a year later composer David Gamper joined the group as the permanent third member. Among Oliveros' major works since then has been the multimedia theater piece Njinga the Queen King (1993), a collaboration with the writer Ione. In 1985 Oliveros founded the Pauline Oliveros Foundation (now the Deep Listening Institute) in Kingston, NY, a humanitarian organization that promotes the performance, practice, and technological developments associated with Oliveros' concept of "deep listening."
See www.deeplistening.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Oliveros
She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the 1960s, and served as its director. She has taught music at Mills College, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Oliveros has written books, formulated new music theories and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "Deep Listening" and "sonic awareness". She was an Eyebeam resident.
Composer Pauline Oliveros is a maverick in the field of electronic music. Oliveros' first instrument was the accordion; as a teenager in Texas she played in a 100-piece accordion group that appeared at the rodeo. In 1949 she entered the University of Houston, but in 1952 transferred to San Francisco State College. Oliveros studied music privately with Robert Erickson and began to associate with a loose confederation of like-minded composers; Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick among them. Oliveros was among the first composers to participate when Subotnick and Ramon 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 of Toronto) are acknowledged as classics of electronic music. From the beginning Oliveros was not greatly interested in electronic tape and its manipulation, 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 in spirituality and meditation. This touched off a series of pieces that emphasized intuition and consciousness among large masses of people. During this time Oliveros temporarily abandoned systems of notation, instruments, and even the use of electronics. By 1975, however, Oliveros had rediscovered her accordion and began to compose drone pieces with voice, among the earliest being Horse Sings From Cloud. In the mid-'80s, Oliveros began to develop EIS (the Expanded Instrument System) utilizing early digital electronic music technology. In 1988 Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, and vocalist Panaoitis formed the Deep Listening Band, which debuted playing in an empty two-million gallon water tank located at Fort Worden in Washington State; a year later composer David Gamper joined the group as the permanent third member. Among Oliveros' major works since then has been the multimedia theater piece Njinga the Queen King (1993), a collaboration with the writer Ione. In 1985 Oliveros founded the Pauline Oliveros Foundation (now the Deep Listening Institute) in Kingston, NY, a humanitarian organization that promotes the performance, practice, and technological developments associated with Oliveros' concept of "deep listening."
See www.deeplistening.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Oliveros
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Let Me Be Not Mad
Pauline Oliveros Lyrics
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The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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August Riley
Nice to see someone talking about Oliveros, she deserves way more attention and its great that you are able to do such a great overview for such a fascinating artist
Tyrell Corp
Thanks for promoting Pauline. Her album Deep Listening and philosophy has impacted me for over 20 years. Love this channel! Where have you been all this time! More content please. ❤✌
IMLX H
DOPE of you to add subtitles!! i'm a hearing person but i have some trouble processing spoken language at times, so i'm happy you gave the effort to add that in!
NorthPrime Unlimited
I love Oliveros. I stumbled across Deep Listening on accident. Once that album kicks in, there’s no going back. It’s so immersive, you get lost in the sonic landscape. It’s fascinating that they recorded it in a cistern. GREAT video I never knew any of her history or herstory.
Sir Not Appearing In This Film
the Deep Listening album was my introduction to Oliveros, and is still my favourite recording of hers I've heard.
NorthPrime Unlimited
I love that album SO much.
Science of Sound
Amen! I couldn't have praised Pauline better myself. I just found you today and I'm subscribing right away!
Mattia Aisemberg
Great video, thank you!
We did some of Oliveros’ sonic meditations last semester here in Berlin :)
Really agree with your point about “women composers”.
francesOrrNot
I've loved bye bye butterfly ever since I first heard it. I'm floored she wasn't looking to create some big masterpiece, since to me her early work has always been amazing, maybe even more compelling than early Riley or Reich. I'm off to read up some more on Oliveros now lol. Thank you!
satorian
you are making such wonderful videos Sarah!!! I feel that I have failed as a composer (and that my university education has failed me) for not having heard of Pauline Oliveros. Very excited to dive into her writing and discography. <3