Old News

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2012

performances

Big World Band concert November 17, 2012 at Christ Church Cathedral

Oliver's work Purple Lotus Bud for Chinese zugheng and string quartet was given its Taiwan premiere at the National Recital Hall, Taiwan, on May 19.

Oliver plays with his new band, the Big World Band, March 9, Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, BC 8pm.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012: World premiere of Meditation for Barbara, Banff Centre for the Arts, Barbara Lieurance, bowed piano.

Monday, February 20, 2012: Official release of Time is Dust - a surround DVD-audio disc of The Immersive Sound Project

Saturday, February 18, 2012: finished piece for bowed piano for Boston pianist Barbara Lieurance. Read more.

January 2012: completed two new works for Big World Band

Canadian Music Centre celebrates Oliver releases at reception on May 11

The Canadian Music Centre fêted the composer on the unprecedented release of his orchestral CD and surround DVD-audio
2011

December 2011: Revised Retour for chamber ensemble

November 2011: New Work for the Oliver Yu Duo, Summer

October 2011: Completed Prelude & Fantasie No. 3 from the “Hot-Tempered Clavier” for Bruce Mather’s 16th-of-tone piano. Preludes & Fantasies numbers 1 & 2 are available on Bruce Mather’s 2-CD set “Music in Thirds and Sixteenth of Tones”, available here.

September 2011: Finished revising my cello concerto Touch! After the premiere performance in Budapest in 1993 (by Canadian cellist Andras Weber), I put the score in a drawer marked “revise.” This work has never been heard since.

September 24, 2011: performed on electric guitar on an event called “When Folk Meets Pop”, a special presentation of the Chuen Ying Arts Centre, Richmond, BC

September 18, 2011: performed (classical & electric guitar) on erhu player Nicole Ge Li’s recital at Riverrock Theatre, Richmond, BC

August 2011: John Oliver and Vancouver composer Farshid Samandari form the Big World Band in Vancouver.

August 2: Oliver’s Forging Utopia, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1997, is Pick of the Week at the NACmusicbox

Plucking Strings, June 5, 7:30 pm, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden, Vancouver BC. The concert, presented by the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble in collaboration with the Gardens, featured the Chinese pipa and daruan, the Vietnamese, Dan Bau, and the Indian sitar, as well as Oliver playing Spanish guitar. Oliver Yu Duo performed Oliver compositions A Dream of Africa and Avoid the Cliff; Oliver performed his solo guitar pieces Pavanas and Sarabandas.

May 14, 2011: Monument Nationale, 1182 St. Laurent Blvd., Montreal, 8 pm: excerpts from Oliver's opera "Alternate Visions", a bilingual opera. Chants Libres présente, en collaboration avec les équipes originales, des différentes créations, avec le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne dirigé par Lorraine Vaillancourt.

March 18, 19, 8 pm: Oliver plays electric guitar with the band Waterhole with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on a special presentation for the International Dance Festival featuring the choreography of Barbara Bourget and Kokoro Dance. At the Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC

March 26, 2011: Vancouver premiere of "Birds of Paradise Lost" for flute and computer at SONIC BOOM festival. John Oliver performs computer part with Paolo Bortolusso, flute. Western Front Hall, 303 E. 8th Ave, Vancouver, 8 pm

Sunday March 6, 15:00, world premiere of new live digital composition No Ambition, commissioned and performed by TREMBLING AEROPLANES ensemble, Inter-Arts Center, Malmö, Sweden. Three of the musicians play computers, with keyboard, wind and MalletKAT controllers; electric guitar is heavily processed and cello plays with a simpler processing setup and looper machine.
March 6, 2011: Performance of PRISMOPHONY for guitar quartet on a fantastic program called MULTIMEDIA GUITARS: new works for guitars, dance & narrator, 2:30 pm at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria, BC

thingNY presents: SPAM v. 2.0 featuring Oliver’s PUMPIN OIL, newly-commissioned work, February 25, 2011 - 7:30pm, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Long Island City, NY

World Premiere of The Bridge for the combined forces of the BC Chinese Music Ensemble and NuBC, Feb. 18, Roy Barnett Recital Hall, UBC School of Music, 8 pm (6361 Memorial Rd, Vancouver Canada)
2010

December 6, 2010: Swedish premiere of Climate Change, Trembling Aeroplanes ensemble, Inter-Arts Centre, Malmö, Sweden

World Premiere, Gypsy Chronicles, Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra conducted by the composer, commissioned work, November 28, 2010, Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

November 22, Oliver appeared on stage at the Vancouver Public Library with musicians of the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra and their artistic director Moshe Denberg at a lecture-demonstration called Music of the Whole World: Global Drums & Strums, an event in which the composers presented the ideas behind their compositions and the musicians demonstrated techniques of their instruments and traditional music, primarily from the Middle East.

World Premiere of Birds of Paradise Lost by Canadian flutist Chenoa Anderson, commissioned work, October 10, 2010, La Sala Rossa, 4848 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal; additional performances October 13, 2010 8:00 pm, Jean McNulty Recital Hall, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Red Chamber performed A Dream of Africa July 10 at the Michael J Fox Theatre, 7:30 as part of the BCCME concert "Better City, Better Life"

Turning Point Ensemble premieres commissioned work Contemplating Motion at special concert of music by elementary and high school students, the culmination of the ensemble’s educational initiative in collaboration with the North Vancouver School District; June 9, 2010. Mount Seymour United Church, North Vancouver, BC. Oliver was a featured guest speaker and gave master classes at Seycove Secondary. Read about this event here.

Oliver performed on electric guitar and computer/sampler as guest musician of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Saturday May 22 at the Roundhouse in a program of three Canadian works by Scott Good, Andrew Staniland and Erik Ross, as well as Ryoanji by John Cage.

May 18, 2010: performance of Tossing and Turning for solo violin, Piotr Szewczyk, Hicks Auditorium, Jacksonville, FL, USA

Vancouver premiere of Guitar concerto La Abuela, guitarist Alexander Dunn & the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Saturday April 24, 2010.

Red Chamber performs Oliver’s A Dream of Africa and his arrangement of John Cage’s Dance No. 1 (from Three Dances) on Cross-Canada Tour, February 16 to March 7, and Northwest Territories May 10-16. For more details, please visit my blog entry. For itinerary of concerts, please visit Mei Han's web site.

Oliver is Composer-in-Residence at the 2010 Northwest Guitar Festival, April 9-11, 2010. Included performances by all of the guitar competition participants of Oliver's Pavanas for classical guitar as the imposed piece, as well as the Victoria premiere of Oliver's guitar quartet PRISMOPHONY performed by the Victoria Guitar Trio and Alexander Dunn.

Bruce Mather’s new Double-CD “Music in thirds and sixteenths of tones” features my Hot Tempered Clavier, a reworking of the famous Bach Well-Tempered Clavier to “compose the temperment.” If Bach wanted to play music in any key on a single keyboard, using the new equal-tempered tuning system, I have taken the first and second preludes and fugues and reworked them so that the temperment moves from 12-tone ET, through various divisions (24, 48, and 96 divisions) into what I call “spectral tuning” at the cadences. Your ears will stand up on end! Also contains music by Wychnegradsky, J.E. Marie, J. Burke, M. Patch, G. Tremblay, J. Desjardins, M. Gonneville, O. Gagnon, J. Winiarz, and Bruce Mather himself. The CD can be purchased on this page.

March 28, 2010: Performance of Raven’s Cry for voice, piano and prerecorded audio; Heather Pawsey, voice; Rachel Iwaasa, piano; UBC Museum of Anthropology as part of the Canadian Music Centre’s New Music in New Places series.

World Premiere, Five-ring Concerto, Turning Point Ensemble, Feb. 24, 2010, work commissioned for the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

January 23, 2010: Canadian League of Composers (CLC) presents “Cultivating Your Career: A Workshop for Composers at All Stages of Their Career”, Western Front, Vancouver, BC. Oliver appears on the Composers Panel
2009
thingNY presents: SPAM featuring Oliver’s CLIMATE CHANGE, newly-commissioned work, Sat. Dec. 19, 2009  - 7:00pm, The University of the Streets, 130 E 7th Street (at Ave. A), New York, NY
“60x60 Canada Dance Mix”, 60 one-minute compositions for multiple loudspeakers; Oliver’s You Are With Us is in the mix. Dec 04 09 at Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, Concordia University,, 7141 Sherbrooke West, Montreal.

October 16, 2009: Bruce Mather performs The Hot Tempered Clavier (2005) on his 16th-of-tone piano, St. Peter’s United Church, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

Monday, October 12, 2009: The lyric opera company Chants Libres (Montréal) is pleased to announce the release of the DVD made from the World Premiere performance of the opera Alternate Visions by composer John Oliver and writer Genni Gunn, both of Vancouver. The DVD was recorded during the first run of the opera in Montreal from May 2 to 5, 2007. For more information about the opera and to purchase, please visit the web page.

Oliver accompanies Ottawa countertenor Kai Ma in a Benefit Concert for the devastation caused in Taiwan by the Morakot typhoon. All proceeds go to the relief fund. Their performances of Frescobaldo, Grandi, Dowland, Mozart and Beethoven received a standing ovation. Ryerson United Church, Friday Sept. 18, 7:30 pm

Performed World Premiere of La Sombra Espiral for classical guitar and string quartet by Canadian composer John Burke at MusicFest Vancouver, August 11, 2009. John Oliver’s commission of this work was made possible by a grant from the BC Arts Council.
BCAC logo

Completed Birds of Paradise Lost for flute and computer, a work commissioned by Canadian flutist Chenoa Anderson with the gratefully-ackonwledged assistance of The Canada Council for the Arts.

May 1, 2009: Red Chamber performs Oliver arrangement of his own work A Dream of Africa, as well as the first of John Cage's "Three Dances" for two prepared pianos at the OPEN EARS festival in Kitchen-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Feb. 4, 2009: Western Canadian premiere of Prismophony guitar quartet at “New Music for Guitar(s)”, Victoria BC.

February 15, 7:00 p.m. Performance of "3 Trains" by Ariel Barnes, cello and Rachel Iwaasa, piano on a concert in the New Music in New Places series sponsored by the Canadian Music Centre at the Rocky Mountaineer Train Station 1755 Cottrell Street, Vancouver, Canada

February 10 - 17 Duo Vita tour of southern Ontario, Canada. Premiere of Oliver composition "Am Bushed" for violin, guitar, and surround audio, and performances of "A Dream of Africa" .

February 8 Z.O.O. Guitar Duo premieres the original 2 guitar version of African Apparition, Cyprus

February 7, 19:30 Duo46 performs US premiere of "On Freedom" at Experimental Arts Festival Paradise Valley Community College, Center for Performing Arts, Phoenix, Arizona 85032

February 4 Victoria guitarists play PRISMOPHONY guitar quartet (Michael Nicolella concert). Michael Nicollela says about the piece "I coached a student quartet performing your music in Victoria last week and was completely knocked out. What a wonderful piece!!!!!"
2008

François Houle performances in Poland

November 21 - concert in Bytom at the Kronika Gallery (Rynek 26), part of the 7th New Music Festival organized by Silesian Music Society
November 22 - concert at the Concert Hall of the Academy of Music, part of the 16th Audio Art Festival in Krakow
November 24 - concert at the Center for Contemporary Art/Ujazdowski Castle, part of the Audio Art Festival in Warsaw

DUO46 performs On Freedom

October
Duo46 performs On Freedom
Santiago, Chile

September 25
Duo46 performs On Freedom
Schlitz, Germany

September 24
Duo46 performs On Freedom
Fulda, Germany

September 23
Piotr Szewczyk performs Tossing and Turning for solo violin
Jacksonville, Florida

July 21
Duo46 performs On Freedom
Pavia, Italy

WORLD PREMIERE, "On Freedom" for violin, guitar and surround sound, commissioned by CBC Radio www.cbc.ca/compose. The composer will be in attendance. The program features a program of new works for violin and guitar performed by this spectacular American duo http://classicalguitarsocietyofcalgary.com

5 April 2008
Duo46
8:00 PM @ St. Stephen's Anglican Church
1121 - 14th Avenue, S.W.,
Calgary, Alberta
Canada

60x60
November 14 "60x60 International Mix International Mix, 60x60 Dance World Financial Center's Winter Garden 60 choreographers create dances to the 60x60 (2008) International Mix.

October 5 "60x60 Canada mix", a collection of 60 1-minute electroacoustic compositions Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery Halifax, NS

October 4
You Are With Us, World Premiere, "60x60 Canada mix", a collection of 60 1-minute electroacoustic compositions 04:00 during Toronto's Nuit Blanche (starting/commence à 18:52), Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto …yes you read that correctly: 4 in the morning!

October through November "60x60 Canada mix", a collection of 60 1-minute electroacoustic compositions Halifax, Toronto, Montréal, México, Regina.


Sunday, August 17, 6 pm, World Premiere of Tossing and Turning for solo violin Craig Hall/Good Shepherd Chamber Music Society of Good Shepherd - Fifth Season Henson Markham, artistic director * 904-346-0373 presents   Chris Dwyer, horn; Ileana Fernandez, piano Carin Miller, bassoon; Marguerite Richardson, violin; Les Roettges, flute; Piotr Szewczyk, violin Scott Watkins, piano     for the benefit of the Friends of the Jacksonville Symphony   Works by: Bach, Boismortier, Bonneau, Brahms,                  Oliver, Rutter, Szewczyk, Wieniavski   There will be a showing of paintings of churches from Belarus, Poland and around the world by resident artist Feodor Zeliankouski of Belarussian/Polish background.

June 4 Intercultural Music with a Modern Sensibility Oliver lecture/demonstration/concert on his music with guest performers Mei Han & Zhimin Yu part of the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra's "Music of the Whole World" series. Vancouver Public Library, 7 pm

Sunday, April 13 2008 L'Hexacorde en concert 03:00 PM @ l'Église de la Visitation 1847, boul. Gouin Est., Montréal, Quebec Canada
WORLD PREMIERE, Oliver's composition PRISMOPHONY for 4 classical guitars.

Saturday, Mar 29 2008 Alan Rinehart Classical Guitarist 08:00 PM @ Quaker Meeting House 1090 West 70th Avenue (at Oak St), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Vancouver Classic Guitar Society presents Alan Rinerhart who will play a suite from Oliver’s MINIMUSICA, as well as PAVANAS on a program of Spanish, Canadian, South American and baroque music. price: $15 adults, $10 seniors and members of the VCGS
http://www.vancouverclassicguitarsociety.org/

2007

Monday, Dec 10
Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble Inaugural Concert WORLD PREMIERE, "A Daydream of Robert Dziekanski", conducted by the composer 08:00 PM @ Western Front 303 8th Avenue East , Vancouver, British Columbia Canada

November 21 …like the sea at sunrise… for piano, Ontario premiere, Contemporary Showcase, Toronto, Canada

Nov. 10 Duo Fresco (Brett Deubner, viola & Christopher Kenniff, guitar) perform the world premiere of A Dream of Africa in the new version for viola and guitar at Halcyon Trio, Duo Fresco and Thula Sizwe! at Shea Auditorium, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, United States

November 9 Oliver was guest performer with the
Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, performing his own newly commissioned work CONSENSUS for the ensemble with added electric bass and drums, as well as traditional and new Chinese music, and an arrangement of the classic Canadian folk song Un Canadien errant. WHEN and WHERE: November 9, Norman Rothstein Theatre, 950 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia

le 1-5 mai • May 1 - 5
ALTERNATE VISIONS, (virtual opera) Montreal A Chants Libres Production une production Chants Libres Visit the facebook page for details.

FEB. 2 WINDSOR CANADIAN NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL - World Premiere of New Work, Windsor Symphony, Capitol Theatre and Arts Centre, Windsor, Ontario http://www.windsorsymphony.com/content.asp?ID=19&NavID=22

MARCH 4 NEW WESTMINSTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2 pm, Massey Theatre, New Westminster, BC http://www.nwso.ca/perform.html

JANUARY 13 Oliver performs excerpts from his NYLONG SYMPHONY for guitars and surround sound. NEW MUSIC CONCERTS, Toronto – http://www.newmusicconcerts.com/
2006

Sunday October 15, 8 pm Oliver Yu Duo Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 1895 Venables St., Vancouver
September 30 Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra performs EAGLE FLIES TO MOUNTAIN, revised version. 7:30 pm at the Telus Theatre at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Vancouver

September 14 Mei Han & John Oliver Duo, Chinese Zheng and classical guitar Douglas College, New Westminster, "The Arts at 1" 1 pm, Douglas College

January 6, 2006 WORLD PREMIERE, GUITAR CONCERTO ("La Abuela") for guitar and string orchestra, commissioned by Victoria guitarist Alexander Dunn. The Victoria Symphony Orchestra will present the premiere of the piece under the direction of Maestra Tania Miller with Alexander Dunn as the soloist.
2005
December 6, 2005 Concert portrait (Portrait Concert) presented by Réseaux des art médiatiques during their Akousma (2) festival, Montréal, Québec. Oliver premieres his Nylong Symphony (Parts 5 and 6) and presents a program of recent electroacoustic music on a large sound system that surrounds the audience, an immersive sound experience.

November 5, 2005 String Theory Festival, Western Front, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Oliver premieres his
Copper Singing and Nylong Symphony (parts 1 to 4) for guitars, synthesizer, and computers

October 15, 2005,
Eagle Flies to Mountain commissioned and premiered by the BC Chinese Music Ensemble conducted by the composer, Michael J Fox Theatre, Burnaby, BC

April 22, 2005, 8pm, University of Victoria Concert Hall,
Raven Steals the Light presented by the Victoria Symphony as part of a special theme concert "Weaving Stories and Legends," Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor.

April 21, 2005: Vancouver East Cultural Centre; Ensemble Symposium performs
Driven on their 10th Anniversary Concert with Oliver on MIDI classical guitar.

April 2, 2005:
Dust featured in Vancouver premiere at the François Houle CD Launch Concert, Asia Pacific Hall of the Wosk Centre in downtown Vancouver; two performances at 5:30 pm and 8 pm


2004

November 4, 2004 8 pm, UBC Recital Hall: Purple Lotus Bud performed by Mei Han, zheng, and the Borealis String Quartet.

July 21 The
Borealis String Quartet and Vancouver zheng player Mei Han commissioned PURPLE LOTUS BUD for zheng and string quartet which was premiered at the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, July 21, 2004, 11 am, Crofton House School, and was broadcast on CBC Radio 2 program In Performance on August 5 and later on Take Five on CBC Radio 1.

May 8 WORLD PREMIERE: The Vancouver Symphony has commissioned a new work, title UP WIND, which was premiered by the orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Christian Arming on May 8 (Sat) & May 10 (Mon), 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver.
April 21 (Wednesday), 10:30 am, Koerner Recital Hall at the Vancouver Academy of Music. Premiere of a STILL TURNING for Chinese zheng and classical guitar performed by the composer with Mei Han on zheng at the Composers and Coffee Series presented by Music in the Morning. Oliver and Han will talk about traditional and contemporary music for their instruments and cross-cultural music-making. STILL TURNING was commissioned by Music in the Morning especially for this occasion. Director June Goldsmith has commissioned six compositions from John Oliver to date.

April 16 (Friday ) 8 pm at the Roundhouse, Vancouver: Canadian premiere of CHASE THE MONEY for alto saxophone and string orchestra, presented by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Tania Miller

April 10, 8 pm, Vancouver East Cultural Centre World Premiere of MONKEY RUNNING commissioned and performed by the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble on a concert of new music for chinese instruments.

2004|02|04 + 06 20h00 * Feb 4 & 6, 8 pm DUST pour clarinette et audio 4 pistes * DUST for clarinet and four-channel audio Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal * Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art Deuxième tribune canadienne de musiques mixtes une coproduction NEM (Nouvel ensemble moderne) et Réseaux En collaboration avec le MACM et le Centre de création musicale Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX).

2003

July 10, 2003 World premiere of Chase the Money for alto saxophone and string orchestra commissioned by Opus 102 publishers of Montréal, performed by David Branter and the World Saxophone Congress 2003 orchestra under the direction of Glen Cortese at the World Saxophone Congress, Minneapolis Minnesota, USA.

May 2, 2003 World premiere of a new work for François Houle for clarinet and tape called Dust, Théâtre La Chapelle, Montréal, Québec. I began work on this piece in August 2001, titled it Dust by the end of the month, then September 11 happened and after one week of watching news, I realized that I had already created my commentary. I created the final section of the piece in late September.

March 16th, 2003 Appeared as guest performer/composer with Ensemble Symposium at the Western Front (Vancouver) in the premiere of his new work, Driven.

February 8, 2003 Oliver's epic orchestral work Raven Steals the Light, based on the retelling of the traditional Haida tale by Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst, was performed by the Thunder Bay Symphony.

2002

November 10, 2002 Oliver performed excerpts from his Unseen Rain arranged for guitar and voice at the Sacred World Music Festival labyrinth

Oliver toured across Canada in September and October 2002 giving some 18 concerts and workshops with his new music duo Structural Damage with special guest composer/performers Ron Samworth and Yasuhiro Otani and Kazuhisa Uchihashi from Japan. Click here for more information

Oliver was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to create a special electroacoustic work to commemorate the first anniversary of the September 11 tragedy in the USA. Give Us Peace is the result, a dramatic and reflective work that is my personal response to the tragic events of September 11.

Vancouver trombonist
Jeremy Berkman commissioned a new work, Sounding Eternal, for trombone, string quartet and live electronics which was recently performed (Oliver on guitars/electronics) during January 2002 in and around Vancouver.

2000

November 19, 2000 WORLD PREMIERE, 3 Trains, a work for cello and piano which was commissioned and performed by Vancouver cellist Ian Hampton, Langley School of Music during Canadian Music Week. May 2002 Oliver conducted 11 musicians in the premiere of his "11" for 9 electric guitars and 2 electric basses at the Vancouver New Music Fetsival in May 2000 at the Arts Club Theatre

1999

May 3, 1999 - The CBC Vancouver Orchestra and Music in the Morning have commissioned a new work, Raven Steals the Light, which was premiered on the Music in the Morning series at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. CANADA on May 3, 1999 at 11:30 am. The concert was simultaneously broadcast to 20 member stations of the European Broadcasting Union and in the evening in Canada on CBC Radio 2's program "In Performance."

April 30 to May 2, 1999 - The Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition has commissioned the imposed work for their vocal competition which took place from April 30 to May 2, 1999 at the University of Brandon in Brandon, Maintoba. The work, Raven's Cry, is scored for voice(s), piano, and prerecorded sounds on compact disc. Although the competitors perform the work in the solo version, a performance for three voices, piano and tape was also presented as part of the competition events. The winner for best performance of Raven's Cry was Krista Scott of Regina. Vilma Vitols took first prize in the competition and will tour Canada with her winning program, including Raven's Cry.

January 23, 1999 - Oliver performs on multiple CD players and keyboard sampler with the newly formed trio Structural Damage (Rainer Bürck, Andrew Czink, John Oliver) at the earsay Rainer Bürck CD release event Without Fear, at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.

1998

October 16, 1998 - earsay concert and CD release party, harangue II,, 8 pm at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby, BC, CANADA. Music by Rainer Bürck, Andrew Czink, Damian Keller, Giorgio Magnanensi, John Oliver, and Hildegard Westerkamp. Featuring guest performers Kate Hammett-Vaughan, voice.
  • Premiere of en amitié for clarinet and tape, a work written for the 20th anniversary of the french FM network of the CBC which features the victory speech of the first Parti Québecois premier, René Levesque.
  • Premiere of Long Time Coming (new version) for clarinet and tape, a work first heard in a version with MIDI guitar during the Vancouver International New Music Festival on June 1, 1998
François Houle performed both pieces.

Vancouver reedman Francois Houle commissioned Long Time Coming for clarinet, optional accompaniment & tape which was premiered with Oliver on MIDI guitar during the Vancouver New Music Festival on June 1, 1998 at the Vogue Theatre.

Vancouver New Music commissioned Retour which was premiered during the Vancouver New Music Festival on May 31, 1998 at the Vogue Theatre.

earsay presented Icicle Blue Avalanche, a CD release concert event. John Oliver performed his own music for electronic guitar, computer and synthesized sounds at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby, BC, CANADA, Thursday May 28, 1998 at 8 pm. Two pieces heard at the BodyElectric Guitar festival were presented in new versions, along with half a program of entirely new music, including the first-ever hearing of three songs from the opera Alternate Visions performed by jazz singer Kate Hammett-Vaughan.

earsay launch concert and CD release party, January 31, 1998, 8 pm at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, BC, CANADA. Music by Andrew Czink, Susan Frykberg, Damian Keller, Giorgio Magnanensi, John Oliver, and Hildegard Westerkamp. Featuring guest performers Kate Hammett-Vaughan, voice; David Murphy and Hans Samuelson, video. Tickets: $18 general/$15 students & seniors. For reservations & information call (604) 527-2358.

The National Arts Centre Orchestra has commissioned a new work. Forging Utopia was premiered during their 1998 "Generation XYZ" New Music Festival (subtitled "High Pop/High Art.") on January 5, 1998 at the National Arts Centre. The National Arts Centre Orchestra was conducted by David Alan Miller.

World Premiere radio broadcast Sunday January 11, 1998 at 10 pm on CBC Radio 2 program "Two New Hours."

1997

Oliver performed at the Body Electric/Guitarévolution festival in Toronto, Victoria, and Vancouver in the fall of 1997.
Pacific Rim: John Oliver (Canada), Paul Dresher (USA), and Wes Wraggett (Canada)

An evening of high-tech performances from some of the West Coast's best composer/performers. John Oliver and Wes Wragget presented new works for MIDI guitar and synthsizers. San Francisco's Paul Dresher, well known for his extensive collaborations with visual artists and dance companies, performed two works for electric guitar and digital processors.
TORONTO: Date: Fri., 26 Sept. 97, 8 pm. Venue: Music Gallery, 179 Richmond St. West.
VANCOUVER: Date: Sun., 28 Sept. 97, 9 pm. Venue: Western Front
VICTORIA: Date: Fri., 3 Oct. 97, 8 pm. Venue: Open Space
Judith Marcuse's dance film, Second Nature, directed by Daniel Conrad with music by John Oliver opened three different screenings of classic dance films at the Pacific Cinématheque 1131 Howe St., Vancouver, on Thursdays, January 23, March 27, and May 22 at 7:30 each evening. OLIVER ON VISION TV

John Oliver appeared in the second episode of the ten-part TV documentary series Ways We Live on Vision TV at 8:30 PM on Wednesday, March 12, presenting excerpts from his opera Alternate Visions.

WORLD PREMIERE OF GALLERY
The CBC has commissioned a wind quintet for the Principal Winds of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. The work, Gallery, was premiered on January 26, 1997 at 3 PM in a concert by the Principal Winds of the National Arts Centre Orchestra at the Tabaret Hall of the University of Ottawa. The concert was recorded by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and broadcast nationally on the CBC Radio 2 program "Chamber Music at Noon" on Monday, March 24.

Traces was played by the Morency Quartet in Montreal on January 13, 1997 at the Salle Pierre Mercure at 8 PM on a program that included Haydn's Kaiser Quartet op.76, no. 3, and Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor, op.34 with Anton Kuerti.