Mary OLIVER
violin/viola

Violinist/violist Mary Oliver was born in La Jolla, California, and studied at the University of California, San Diego, where she received her Ph.D in 1993 for her researches in the theory and practice of improvised music.

Her work as a soloist encompasses both composed and improvised contemporary music; she has premiered works of Richard BARRETT, John CAGE, Chaya CZERNOWIN, Joelle LEANDRE, George LEWIS, and Iannis XANAKIS amongst others, and worked alongside improvising musicians such as Ab BAARS, FURT, Ig HENNEMAN, Han BUHRS, Tristan HONSINGER, Joelle LEANDRE, and Evan PARKER.

Mary has performed in numerous international festivals, including the Darmstadter Ferienkurze für neue Musik, October Meetimg (Amsterdam), Jazz Marathon (Groningen), Ars Electronica (Linz), North American Music Festival, June-ni-Buffalo (New York), and Zürich Tage für Neue Musik.

In 1993-94 she was a resident artist as Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, and presently lives in Amsterdam as a freelance musician and soloist with ensembles such as the Schismatics, Gene Carl Band, Ig Henneman String Quartet, Ensemble Köln, Musikfabrik, and ELISION Ensemble.

March 1997