Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) was a groundbreaking composer and musician known for her pioneering contributions to experimental and improvisational electronic music.  As one of the only female Mexican American LGBTQ+ artists of the 20th century, Oliveros continually challenged societal hierarchical norms throughout her life, particularly through her philosophy of Deep Listening. 

Deep Listening explores the difference between the involuntary act of hearing and focused, conscious listening. It includes any and all sounds from daily life, the natural world, music, and/or the imagination. The Deep Listening philosophy combines scientific and spiritual influences, serving as a musical and meditative practice that aims to enhance awareness, inclusivity, empathy, and community.

Growing up in Houston, Texas, Pauline Oliveros had a wealth of musical, natural, and technological sounds to draw upon for inspiration. She initially navigated the complexities of sound with her instrument of choice, the accordion, and a tape recorder- which her mother brought home for her in 1948. Her mother was an essential inspiring musical figure, who largely shaped Pauline Oliveros’ artistic vision and approach through her piano improvisations for modern dance classes at their local YWCA.  

After studying as an accordion major at the University of Houston, TX and obtaining her composition degree at San Francisco State University, Oliveros went on to become the founding director of the San Francisco Tape Music Center where she created the Expanded Instrument System (EIS), which allowed for real-time sonic manipulations. 

In the 1970s, Pauline Oliveros shifted her focus towards activism and education. While teaching her Deep Listening philosophies at UC San Diego, Oliveros also engaged in writing various articles about feminism and how it relates to music and gender; her most notable article was titled, “And Don’t Call Them Lady Composers,” published by the New York Times.

In 1974, Pauline Oliveros developed Sonic Meditations, a series of improvisational practices rooted in her Deep Listening philosophy, using prose instructions instead of conventional music notation. 

This collection of pieces is widely regarded as her greatest musical contribution.

In 1989, while continuing her work on Sonic Meditations, Pauline Oliveros released her Deep Listening album, having established and recorded with the Deep Listening Band the year prior. She toured internationally, performing alongside Stuart Dempster, David Dunn, and her partner IONE at various venues. 

That same year, Oliveros founded the Deep Listening Institute (now called the Center for Deep Listening) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, where she taught classes, workshops, and seminars until her passing in 2016. 

Towards the end of her career, Oliveros also began work developing Adaptive Use Musical Instruments (AUMI) to enable and empower those with severe mobility challenges to make music.

Pauline Oliveros has received many notable awards over the course of her life, including four honorary doctorate degrees, the Giga-Hertz Award for Lifetime Achievement in Electronic Music, and the Beethoven Prize from the city of Bonn. 

Additionally, Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros is a biographical film that was made in her honor posthumously in collaboration with Oliveros’ wife IONE. 

IONE currently manages The Pauline Oliveros Foundation and the Pauline Oliveros Trust, established to preserve and promote Oliveros’s musical legacy.