Pauline Oliveros

Pauline Oliveros, 84, of Kingston, NY, died in her sleep, Thursday, November 24, 2016 at her home. Born in Houston, TX, she was a daughter of the late John Oliveros and Edith Gutierrez. She 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 taught music at Mills College, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Where she has been a Professor of Practice, Arts Department, from 2001 to present. She has been the recipient of numerous grants including four honorary doctorates and The John Cage Award from the Foundation of Contemporary Arts, NYC and the William Schuman Award for Lifetime Achievement, Columbia University. Oliveros investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "Deep Listening" and "sonic awareness". She is the founder of "Deep Listening," which comes from her childhood fascination with sounds and from her works in concert music with composition, improvisation and electro-acoustics. Pauline Oliveros describes Deep Listening as a way of listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing. Such intense listening includes the sounds of daily life, of nature, of one's own thoughts as well as musical sounds. Deep Listening is my life practice," she explains, simply. Deep Listening Institute, formerly Pauline Oliveros Foundation, located until 2015 in Kingston, NY, is now the Center For Deep Listening at Rensselaer ( RPI) in Troy, NY Pauline is survived by her spouse, Carole Ione Lewis (AKA IONE) of Kingston, three children with Ione, Alessandro Bovoso of Phoenix, AZ, Nico Bovoso of Berkeley, CA, Antonio Bovoso of Acton, MA, and eight grandchildren. Her brother, John Oliveros and his wife Minnie of Ocala Florida and her niece, Daisy Nightingale, of Bari, Canada also survive. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Interment will be privately held.