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 great breadth of vision. Oliveros has been
honored with awards and grants and her music has been played throughout the
world. Whether performing at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.,
or an underground caves Oliveros' commitment to interaction with the moment
is unchanged. In performance Oliveros uses and expanded accordion. The
expressive possibilities are increased by an electronic system, devised by
Oliveros to alter sounds, bend pitches and explore the individual
characteristics of each room.
Pauline Oliveros has built a loyal following through her concerts,
recordings, publications and musical compositions that she has written for
soloists and ensembles in music, dance, theater and interact companies. She
has also provided leadership within the music community from her early
years as Director of the tape music center at mills college and as Director
of the Center for Music Experiment during her 14 year tenure at the
University of California, SanDiego. She has acted in advisory capacity for
organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York
State Council for the Arts and many private foundations. 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.
She is currently visiting professor at Mills College in Oakland.
Barre Phillips was born in San Francisco in 1934. He migrated to New York
City in 1962 where he met and studied with Frederick Zimmermann. His years
in New York
during the 60,s brought him into contact with the Free Jazz and
Contemporary Music scenes which were flowering there at that time. Barre
Phillips has lived in the south of France since 1972. As much a composer as
a performer, Barre has worked in the areas of film, ballet and theater
throughout the years. Parallel to these experiences Barre Phillips has
continued to perform and
record. He has recorded over 100 records, 30 of them under his own name.
Barre is in constant demand throughout Europe, North America and Japan as a
soloist and improviser. His stage experience spans a wide range of musical
styles, from Coleman Hawkins to Cecil Taylor to Interactive Electronic
music. His work in the 1970,s with John Surman and Stu Martin, THE TRIO,
became a model in itself, and influenced many younger musicians.
He is also an active teacher and has lead workshops regularly since 1976 in
Europe, America and Japan in Double Bass, Improvised Music and Music for
Contemporary Dance.
Dana Reason is a pianist and composer from Montreal, Canada. Her principal
teachers include Aleck Karis, Julie Steinberg, and Louis-Phillipe Peltier
for piano and Alcides Lanza, Pauline Oliveros, and Alvin Curran for
composition. She has appeared at the Banff Arts Festival, Knitting
Factory (NYC), Guelph Jazz Festival, Meet the Composer (NY), Festival In
Pink (LA), the Music Gallery (Toronto), and the San Francisco Jazz
Festival. Ms. Reason has recorded for Music and Arts, Deep Listening, Red
Toucan, and Ryokan labels and has been featured on National Public Radio,
CBC and Radio Canada. Ms. Reason obtained a Bachelor of Music from McGill
University, a Master of Arts in Composition from Mills College, and is
currently the recipient of a full-fellowship from the University of
California at San Diego where she is pursuing Ph.D in the music program
Critical Studies/Experimental Practices.
Philip Gelb is one of a few shakuhachi players concentrating on new music.
He has studied shakuhachi with Kurahashi Yoshio-sensei, Ronnie Nyogetsu and
Dale Olsen and composition with Yuji Takahashi. He has performed throughout
North America and in Japan and Europe as a soloist and in ensembles with
some of the most respected musicians of our time. In July, 1998 he was an
invited guest at the International shakuhachi festival where he premiered a
new solo composition and a new duet with interactive computer composer,
Chris Brown. He has composed for dancers Eri Majima, Nia Love and Peggy
Thrasher. Philip Gelb and Dana Reason have been collaborating in duet and
other ensembles for 12 years. He has recorded for Deep Listening, New
World/Countercurrents, Ryokan, Abray, Limited Sedition and Cultural
Labyrinth. Gelb is currently living and teaching in the SanFrancisco Bay
area.
Philip Gelb
shakuhachi:performance, lessons
ryokan@wenet.net
c/o Compound I
947 61 street #14
Oakland, CA 94608
510 923 0951
http://www.hooked.net/~ryokan/