May 30, 1932:
Pauline Oliveros is born in Houston, eldest of two children born to John B. Oliveros and Edith Inez Gribben.
May 20, 1952:
Song for horn and harp and dance band by Pauline Oliveros (19) is performed for the first time, at the University of Houston.
May 25, 1952:
Song for piano and Undertone for violin and piano by Pauline Oliveros (19) are performed for the first time, at the University of Houston.
May 18, 1954:
Prelude and Fugue for string quartet by Pauline Oliveros (21) is performed for the first time, at San Francisco State College.
May 12, 1955:
Three new works by Pauline Oliveros (22) are performed for the first time, at San Francisco State College: Essay for piano, Fugue for piano, and a Trio for clarinet, horn, and bassoon.
May 13, 1957:
Serenade for viola and bassoon by Pauline Oliveros (24) is performed for the first time, at San Francisco State College.
November 18, 1957:
New music by Pauline Oliveros (25) is performed for the first time, at San Francisco State College: Three Songs for soprano and piano to words of Duncan and Olson, and Three Songs for soprano and horn, to words of Sandburg and Whitman.
December 18, 1961:
The first in a concert series called Sonics takes place at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. It includes electronic music created in a new studio set up in the conservatory’s attic by Ramon Sender. It features music by Sender, Pauline Oliveros (29), Terry Riley (26), and Philip Winsor. Riley's Mescalin Mix and Oliveros’ Time Perspectives for four-track tape are performed for the first time.
September 10, 1962:
Sound Patterns by Pauline Oliveros (30) is performed for the first time, in Utrecht. It wins the Gaudeamus International Composers Award.
May 10, 1963:
Outline for flute, percussion, and bass by Pauline Oliveros (30) is performed for the first time, at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
November 4, 1964:
Several works by Terry Riley (29) are performed at the San Francisco Tape Music Center, 321 Divisadero Street: Music from the Gift, I, Shoeshine, In B-flat or is it A-flat?, Coulé (Keyboard Study no.1), and the premiere of In C. Among the performers are Steve Reich (29), Pauline Oliveros (32), Morton Subotnick (31), and the composer. Subotnick will recall, "The audience response was wonderful. There was a buzz...It was a kind of warm, vibrant, happy...it was like something had happened, maybe not historical, but something had happened that night that was really special. It was different than other concerts." (Carl, 50) This concert, especially In C, help bring minimalism into the mainstream.
May 21, 1965:
Tread on the Trail for unspecified instruments by Terry Riley (29) is performed for the first time, at the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Among the performers are Pauline Oliveros (32), Steve Reich (28), and the composer.
November 8, 1965:
Two new mixed-media works by Pauline Oliveros (33) are performed for the first time, in San Francisco: George Washington Slept Here for amplified violin, film, projections, and two-track tape, and Light Piece for David Tudor for electronically modified piano, lights, film, and four-track tape.
March 11, 1966:
Theatre Piece for Trombone Player for trombone, hoses, candles, and two-track tape by Pauline Oliveros (33) is performed for the first time, in San Francisco.
October 31, 1966:
Hallo for electronically modified piano, two tape delay systems, violins, voice, actor, light projections, and dancers by Pauline Oliveros (34) is performed for the first time, at Mills College, Oakland.
July 22, 1967:
In a twelve-hour concert devoted to her music, several new works by Pauline Oliveros (35) for two-track tape are performed for the first time, in San Francisco: 5000 miles; Alien Bog; Beautiful Soop; Big Mother is Watching You; II of IV; Mills Bog; and The Day I Disconnected the Erase Head and Forgot to Reconnect It.
June 7, 1968:
Valentine for four players, with amplification by Pauline Oliveros (36), is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
July 10, 1968:
Night Jar for viola d’amore, tape, film, and mime by Pauline Oliveros (36) is performed for the first time, in New York.
February 11, 1969:
Double Basses at Twenty Paces for two referees, two bassists, and conductor by Pauline Oliveros (36) is performed for the first time, at the University of California, San Diego.
February 23, 1969:
Three new works by Pauline Oliveros (36) are performed for the first time, at the University of California, San Diego: A-OK for accordion, violins, chorus, conductor, audience, and tape-delay system; SY*dF=1 for mixed media; and The Dying Alchemist Preview for trumpet, violin, percussion, narrator, and slides.
May 17, 1969:
Aeolian Partitions for flute, clarinet, cello, and piano by Pauline Oliveros (36) is performed for the first time, at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine.
April 14, 1970:
Music for Expo ‘70 for mulitchannel tape by Pauline Oliveros (37) is performed for the first time, in Osaka.
August 22, 1970:
Music for T’ai Chi for accordion, two cellos, and three voices by Pauline Oliveros (38) is performed for the first time, in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
October 7, 1970:
Two works by Pauline Oliveros (38) are performed for the first time, at Hope College, Holland, Michigan: Bog Road with Bird Call Patch for two-track tape, and To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of the Desperation for chamber orchestra, chorus, organ, electronics, and lights. See 29 January 1971.
October 14, 1970:
The Wheel of Fortune for clarinet, slides, monologue, and costumes by Pauline Oliveros (38) is performed for the first time, at the University of Washington, Seattle.
November 5, 1970:
Why Don’t You Write a Short Piece for solo performer or group by Pauline Oliveros (38) is performed for the first time, at the University of California, San Diego.
January 29, 1971:
To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation by Pauline Oliveros (38) is performed for the first time, in a setting for orchestra, in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. See 7 October 1970.
March 2, 1971:
Pauline Oliveros (38) presents some of her Sonic Meditations at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.
May 5, 1972:
Link for specialized and non-specialized performers by Pauline Oliveros (39) is performed for the first time, at Palomar College, Oceanside, California.
July 19, 1972:
Phantom Fathom (II) by Pauline Oliveros (40) is performed for the first time, at the California State University at Long Beach.
September 23, 1972:
Sonic Images for narrator and audience by Pauline Oliveros (40) is performed for the first time, at California State University, Los Angeles.
March 6, 1975:
New works are performed for the first time, at the opening of the Mandeville Center for the Arts at the University of California at San Diego: Crow Two-A Ceremonial Opera for specialized and non-specialized performers by Pauline Oliveros (42), and My, My What a Wonderful Fall for five dancers/acrobats, text, tape, sculpted light, and gym mat by Kenneth Gaburo (48) to his own words.
April 1, 1975:
A Ceremony of Sounds for audience by Pauline Oliveros (42) is performed for the first time, at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.
April 2, 1977:
Rose Moon for chorus and marathon runners by Pauline Oliveros (44) is performed for the first time, at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.
April 29, 1977:
Theater of Substitution: Blind/Dumb/Director for solo performers by Pauline Oliveros (44) is performed for the first time, at the University of California at San Diego.
May 14, 1977:
Pauline Oliveros (44) is awarded first prize in the Bonn International Beethoven Festival composition contest, for Bonn Feier.
November 30, 1977:
The Pathways of the Grandmothers for accordion and voice by Pauline Oliveros (45) is performed for the first time, at the Center for Social Services in San Diego.
April 8, 1979:
The Klickitat Ride for chorus and/or instruments and caller by Pauline Oliveros (46) is performed for the first time, in Vancouver.
April 29, 1979:
El Relicario de los Animale for 20 instruments and singer by Pauline Oliveros (46) is performed for the first time, at the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia.
August 17, 1979:
Two works by Pauline Oliveros (47) are performed for the first time, in the Lenox Art Center, Lenox, Massachusetts: Double X for quartet or octet of instruments, and Rock Piece for any number of performers.
January 26, 1980:
Crow’s Nest (The Tuning Meditation), installation with film and dance by Pauline Oliveros (47), is performed for the first time, in the Guggenheim Museum, New York.
March 4, 1980:
Fwyynghn, a theatre piece by Pauline Oliveros (47), in collaboration with others, is performed for the first time, at the California Institute for the Arts, Valencia.
March 30, 1980:
Two works by Pauline Oliveros (47) for any number of performers are performed for the first time, at the Cornish School, Seattle: Anarchy Waltz and Angels and Demons.
April 24, 1980:
MMM, A Lullaby for Daisy Pauline for audience by Pauline Oliveros (47) is performed for the first time, in Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
May 30, 1980:
The Witness for virtuoso instrumentalists by Pauline Oliveros is performed for the first time, in The Kitchen, New York on the composer’s 48th birthday.
August 27, 1981:
Monkey for children’s ensemble by Pauline Oliveros (49) is performed for the first time, in Aptos, California.
August 30, 1981:
Tashi Gomang for orchestra by Pauline Oliveros (49) is performed for the first time, in Aptos, California.
January 10, 1982:
Incidental music to Higgins’ play Stacked Deck by Pauline Oliveros (49) is performed for the first time, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
January 27, 1983:
The Wanderer for accordion orchestra by Pauline Oliveros (50) is performed for the first time, in the Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York.
August 15, 2001:
Pauline Oliveros (69) is appointed Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.
February 10, 2012:
Pauline Oliveros (79) is named the recipient of the John Cage Award by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
November 24, 2016:
Pauline Oliveros dies at her home in Kingston, New York, aged 84 years, five months, and 25 days.