John Oliver (composer)

Last updated

John Oliver (born 21 September 1959) is a Canadian composer, guitarist, and conductor. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community, his music has been performed throughout North America, Europe, and China. In a 1989 article in The Music Scene , Oliver stated that he intended his music "to make sense without falling back on traditional models". [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Born Edward John Clavering Oliver in Vancouver, Oliver is the son of Vancouver artist Edward Oliver and playwright Thelma Oliver (aka Melissa Cameron). He studied the guitar privately with Robert C. Jordan from 1972 to 1977. He attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1977 to 1979 where he studied guitar with George Sakellariou and composition with John Adams. He transferred to the University of British Columbia in 1979 where he earned a Bachelor of Music in 1982 and was a pupil of Stephen Chatman. He went on to pursue graduate studies in music composition at McGill University where he earned a Master of Music in 1984 and a Doctor of Musical Arts in 1992. His teachers at McGill included Bruce Mather and John Rea. From 1988 to 1989 he studied in Brussels with Philippe Boesmans and studied psychoacoustics on his own in the library at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. [1]

Career

During the 1980s Oliver was commissioned to compose numerous works, including Halloween (1980, Allison Voth), Before the Freeze (1984, Claude Schryer), Aller-Retour (1988, the SMCQ), New Bloom (1988, Robert Aitken), and Fields Before Us (1990, Lori Freedman). In 1983 he helped found Montreal's Group of the Electronic Music Studio, serving as the organization's co-director through 1987. In 1988 he was awarded first prize and the Canada Council's grand prize for his El Reposo del Fuego at the CBC National Radio Competition for Young Composers. In 1989 his Anamnèse amnésique for orchestra and Aller-Retour for chamber ensemble won two categories in the PROCAN Young Composers' Competition. [1] In 2013, he won "Classical Composition of the Year" at the 2013 Western Canadian Music Awards. [2]

From 1989 to 1991 Oliver served as the composer-in-residence of the Canadian Opera Company (COC). While there he wrote the opera Guacamayo's Old Song and Dance which uses a libretto by the composer's mother that is based on various Guatemalan legends and pays special attention to the culture and politics of the people of Guatemala. The work incorporates pre-recorded sounds of the Guatemalan countryside and uses a score for five singers, winds, brass, guitar, percussion, and live electronics. The opera premiered in Toronto on 26 February 1991 and was subsequently broadcast on CBC Radio on 19 October 1991. The opera also served as Oliver's doctoral composition. [1]

Oliver's accomplishments at the COC led to his appointments as composer-in-residence of the Vancouver Opera (1992–1996) and Music in the Morning (1993–1995). His work at Music and the Morning included compositions written for Russell Braun, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. He has since been commissioned to write works for numerous ensembles and organizations, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Vancouver Symphony, and has gained a reputation for integrating musical instruments from various musical cultures in his compositions. He has also worked actively as a performer of his own works and has sometimes conducted his own music. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolai Korndorf</span> Musical artist

Nikolai Sergeevich Korndorf was a Russian and Canadian composer and conductor. He was prolific both in Moscow, Russia, and in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian classical music</span>

In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.

Harry Freedman , was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as The Bloody Brood (1959), Isabel (1968), The Act of the Heart (1970), The Pyx (1973) and The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog (1980), and composed a substantial amount of chamber music. He also composed music for six ballets, an opera, some incidental music for the theatre, and a few vocal art songs and choral works. He was awarded a Juno Award in 1996 for his symphonic work Touchings, which was recorded by the Esprit Orchestra on the Nexus label. He won the 1998 composition prize at the International Rostrum of Composers for Borealis, a symphonic work co-commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Soundstreams Canada, and CBC Radio. In 2002 the Canadian Music Centre released a commercial recording dedicated to his music, Canadian Composers Portraits: Harry Freedman.

István Anhalt was a Hungarian-Canadian composer.

Alexina Diane Louie,, is a Canadian composer of contemporary art music. She has composed for various instrumental and vocal combinations in a variety of genres. She has fulfilled a number of commissions, and her works, which have been performed internationally, have earned her a number of awards, including the Order of Canada and two Juno Awards.

Andrew Paul MacDonald is a Canadian classical composer, guitarist, conductor, and music educator. His compositions have been performed in many countries and recorded by well-known musical ensembles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Estacio</span> Canadian compoer

John Estacio is a contemporary Canadian composer of opera, orchestral and choral music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schulich School of Music</span>

The Schulich School of Music is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, Rue Sherbrooke Ouest. The faculty was named after the benefactor Seymour Schulich.

Bruce Mather is a Canadian composer, pianist, and writer who is particularly known for his contributions to contemporary classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Brady</span> Canadian composer, musician and producer

Timothy Wesley John Brady is a Canadian composer, electric guitarist, improvising musician, concert producer, record producer and cultural activist. Working in the field of contemporary classical music, experimental music, and musique actuelle, his compositions utilize a variety of styles from serialism to minimalism and often incorporate modern instruments such as electric guitars and other electroacoustic instruments. His music is marked by a synthesis of musical languages, having developed an ability to use elements of many musical styles while retaining a strong sense of personal expression. Some of his early recognized works are the 1982 orchestral pieces Variants and Visions, his Chamber Concerto (1985), the chamber trio ...in the Wake..., and his song cycle Revolutionary Songs (1994).

Victor Albert Davies is a Canadian composer, pianist, and conductor, best known for his opera Transit of Venus and The Mennonite Piano Concerto.

Brent Lee is a Canadian composer and professor of Music Composition at the University of Windsor. Growing up, he studied guitar and saxophone. He received a Bachelor's (1986) and Master's (1990) degree in Music Composition from McGill University in Montreal. Brent showed interest in both computer and electroacoustic music. While still a student, he was awarded several composition prizes through CAPAC and SOCAN, and was one of six young composers to receive a Residency Prize at the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Festival in 1988.

José Evangelista was a Spanish composer and music educator who was based in Montreal, Canada. He was professor of composition at the Université de Montréal from 1979 to 2009. A member of the Canadian League of Composers, the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, Evangelista was known for his commitment to contemporary classical music and non-Western music.

Steven Gellman is a Canadian composer and pianist. He has been commissioned to write works for the Besançon International Music Festival, the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, McGill University, Musica Camerata, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Opera Lyra, the Pierrot Ensemble, the Stratford Festival, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra among others. Since 1976 he has taught music composition and theory at the University of Ottawa.

Donald Steven is a Canadian-American composer, music educator, and academic administrator. An associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre, he won a BMI Student Composer Award in 1970, the Canadian Federation of University Women's Golden Jubilee Creative Arts Award in 1972, the 1987 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year and the 1991 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music. His musical compositions are characterized by their emphasis on instrumental colour and atmosphere. Perhaps his most well known piece is his Illusions for solo cello, which has been widely performed in concert and on television and radio broadcasts.

François Morel was a Canadian composer, pianist, conductor, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 1994 and was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier in 1996. He has had his works premiered by the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Lake (musician)</span> Musical artist

Larry Ellsworth Lake was an American–born Canadian composer, trumpeter, freelance writer on music, radio broadcaster, and record producer. As a composer he was primarily known for his electronic music. His musical compositions are characterized by their integration of acoustic instruments with electronic ones in live performance. From 1985 until his death he served as artistic director of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, a group of which he was a founding member. For nearly 30 years he hosted and served as music consultant for the CBC Radio program Two New Hours. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC), he was the chair of the CMC's Ontario Region Council and was an executive member of the CMC's national board. He was a member of both the Canadian Electroacoustic Community and the Canadian League of Composers. His compositions received multiple awards from the CMC and from the Major Armstrong Foundation. He received three Juno Award nominations for his work as a record producer.

Allan Gordon Bell, is a Canadian contemporary classical composer.

Riki Turofsky is a Canadian concert and opera soprano, broadcaster, and video producer. She has sung leading roles with opera companies in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has performed on the concert stage with major ensembles throughout North America. In 1978 she expanded her career into broadcasting as a host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program Summer Festival. She has since appeared as a host on numerous programs for the CBC and the CTV Television Network. She also owns and operates the company Riki Productions which produces arts related programing for Canadian television.

James Scott Irvine is a Canadian composer, arranger, and tuba player based in Owen Sound, Ontario. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers, he has been commissioned to compose works by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Laidlaw Foundation, and the Ontario Arts Council. His works have been recorded on a number of commercial releases, including CDs by Joan Watson, Jack Grunsky, the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, and the Berlin Philharmonic. Most of his compositions are written for concert band and brass instruments.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Barclay McMillan. "John Oliver". The Canadian Encyclopedia .
  2. ↑ Oliver, John. "News". John Oliver composer. John Oliver. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.