Ten Thousand Hours Installment 5: Pauline Oliveros

Composer, improviser and deep listening proponent Pauline Oliveros discusses her more than 50 years at the forefront of experimental music, from her initial arrival in San Francisco in the 1950’s to the celebration in honor of receiving the William Schumann Award from Columbia University, and beyond.  She discusses her innovations in the field of music technology, from her involvement in the San Francisco Tape Music Center to her current work with iPhones as instruments and the development of Adaptive Use Software, which enables physically challenged individuals to make improvisational music.  She and host James Ilgenfritz also discuss the changes that have taken place for women composers in the 50 years since she was the first woman to receive the award for composition from the Pacifica Foundation in 1960, and the aspects of her work that incorporate gender and contemplative disciplines, including her sonic meditations, her Deep Listening practice, and the 10th Annual Women and Identity Festival, curated by Ione.  Oliveros and host James Ilgenfritz also perform a number of ecclectic improvisations, with Pauline employing her Roland Digital Accordion.

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. 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. Through Deep Listening Pieces and earlier Sonic Meditations, Oliveros introduced the concept of incorporating all environmental sounds into musical performance. 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. Pauline Oliveros has built a loyal following through her concerts, recordings, publications and musical compositions, and 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.

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Ten Thousand Hours 5: Pauline Oliveros

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