Papers of Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016), American experimental musician, composer and key figure in the development of contemporary electronic music. The collection contains Oliveros' original writings, compositions, correspondence and sketches. Also included are interviews, programs and reviews, teaching materials and writings about and relating to Oliveros' work.
Pauline Oliveros Papers, 1931-1981 (MSS 102)
Restrictions: Original media formats are restricted. Viewing/listening copies may be available for
researchers.
Extent: 20.4 Linear feet (31 archives boxes, 7 flat boxes, 2 map case folders, and 2 card file boxes)
Digital Content
Most of the Pauline Oliveros Papers have been digitized, with the exception of oversize (material with "FB" or "MC" container designations) and some published content. Many folders in the collection, such as writings and correspondence, may be viewed without restriction by clicking directly on the blue title links. Musical works and compositions, and related materials in shared folders with musical works and compositions, may only be viewed by registered users through the Library's Virtual Reading Room service. Please request all musical works directly from the finding aid for access facilitated through the Library's virtual reading room service.
Pauline Oliveros was born in Houston, Texas in 1932. An accomplished accordionist, composer and teacher, she is an instrumental figure in the world of electronic music. Oliveros was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center, a resource for electronic music in the 1960s. Later, the Center moved to Mills College and became the Center for Contemporary Music where Oliveros was the Center's first director.
Oliveros' teaching career spans several decades. She left Mills College in 1967 when she accepted a faculty position at the University of California, San Diego. From 1976-1979 Oliveros served as the director of the Center for Music Experiment (CME), later renamed The Center for Research in Computing and the Arts (CRCA) at UCSD.
In 1981 she moved to upstate New York to work as an independent composer and performer. She then became the Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York and the Darius Milhaud Artist-in-Residence at Mills College.
Oliveros is the founder of The Deep Listening Institute, formerly the Pauline Oliveros Foundation. In 1991 she coined the term "Deep Listening". The Institute explains Deep Listening philosophy , stating that it "distinguishes the difference between the involuntary nature of hearing and the voluntary selective nature of listening. The result of the practice cultivates appreciation of sounds on a heightened level, expanding the potential for connection and interaction with one's environment, technology and performance with others in music and related arts." Out of this philosophy, Oliveros formed the Deep Listening Band with fellow musicians David Gamper and Stuart Dempster.
Oliveros has been a great influence on American electronic and experimental music. In 2009, she won the William Schuman Award for lifetime achievement from Columbia University and in 2010, a retrospective of her work from 1960 to 2010 was performed in honor of the award.
On March 19th, 2012, Oliveros became the recipient of the John Cage Award from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts. Also in 2012, Pauline Oliveros celebrated her 80th birthday with year long celebration performances, Deep Listening activities and residencies.
Some of her notable works include Sonic Meditations, Sound Patterns, and Theater of Substitution series. She has also written several books on music theory and electronic music including Sounds the Margins: Collected Writings 1992-2009, Deep Listening: A Composer's Sound Practice, Roots of the Moment, Software for People: Collected Writings 1963-80. Oliveros died November 24, 2016 in Kingston, New York.
Papers of Pauline Oliveros, composer, accordionist and former music professor at UCSD. Materials include correspondence, works and writings by Pauline Oliveros and others, manuscripts of Oliveros' compositions, subject files, reel-to-reel audio tapes and ephemera. These materials were originally located at UCSD's Music Library.
Arranged in eleven series: 1) WORKS BY PAULINE OLIVEROS, 2) WRITINGS, 3) PROJECTS, 4) INTERVIEWS AND CRITICISMS, 5) PROGRAMS AND REVIEWS, 6) UNIVERSITY MATERIALS, 7) WORKS BY OTHERS, 8) WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 9) CORRESPONDENCE, 10) BIOGRAPHICAL and 11) ELECTRONIC MUSIC SYSTEMS.