John Oliver - Icicle Blue Avalanche CD

3, Fall 2000

"one of the most viscerally dramatic discs I've heard in quite a while...huge slabs of extremely solid music"George Zahora, Splendidezine

Based in Vancouver, Canada, John Oliver writes and performs music for acoustic instruments and electroacoustic media. Oliver believes that music should resonate the whole listener (intellect, emotion, and body). John Oliver came to international attention during 1988/89 when he won six prizes for five compositions ranging from chamber to orchestral to electroacoustic music. He won the Canada Council's Grand Prize at the 8th CBC 8th National Competition for Young Composers for his live electronic work with tape, "El Reposo del Fuego." His electroacoustic music has been presented at many international festivals in Europe and the Americas. Oliver's "classical" music has been performed by the Canadian Opera Company, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, the CBC Radio Orchestra, Vancouver New Music, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, among others. His music appears on CDs from empreintes DIGITALes, earsay, CBC Records, ZaDiscs, SNE and McGill University Records.