BEETHOVEN WAS A LESBIAN: A TRIBUTE TO PAULINE OLIVEROS
FREE admission, reservation required. RSVP beginning Wednesday, October 4, at 9 AM.
One of the foremost avant-garde composers of her generation, Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016) expanded our understanding and perception of sound. In her groundbreaking career, Oliveros consistently experimented with new musical forms, emphasizing the potential of non-hierarchal musical practices and collaboration. An influential figure in Southern California’s artistic communities during the 1970s, Oliveros’s work was inspired by and deeply committed to the women’s movement. ONE Archives, in collaboration with author, playwright/director, and poet IONE and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), will present an open set of performances, meditations, Deep Listening, screenings, and discussions in tribute to Oliveros’s extensive work in experimental and electronic music. Featuring performances across multiple spaces; archival film and video screenings; and discussions about Oliveros’s musical work, 1970s Southern California, and Latinx musical history, this immersive event will offer exciting new ways to explore Oliveros’s landmark contributions to music. The event’s title, “Beethoven Was a Lesbian,” comes from a 1974 collaboration between Oliveros and Alison Knowles that addressed women’s outsider status in the music world.
“Beethoven Was a Lesbian: A Tribute to Pauline Oliveros” is presented in conjunction with Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. Oliveros is one artist included in this wide-reaching exhibition that map the intersections and collaborations among a network of queer Chicano artists and their artistic collaborators from the late 1960s to the early 1990s in Southern California.
Anne Bourne, cello
Nicholas DeMaison, conductor
Nicholas Deyoe, guitar
Jacob Greenberg, piano and Indian harmonium
Rebekah Heller, bassoon
IONE, voice and librettist
Ross Karre, percussion
Ryan Muncy, saxophone
Joshua Rubin, clarinet
James Austin Smith, oboe
ICE’s 2017-18 performances and commissioning activities are made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Amphion Foundation, MAP Fund, Pew Charitable Trusts, Pacific Harmony Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Casement Fund, BMI Foundation, as well as public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council for the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Yamaha Artist Services New York is the exclusive piano provider for ICE.