Vivienne Olive

Vivienne Olive (born 31 May 1950 in London) is a British-Australian composer and music educator.

Life

Vivienne Olive studied piano, harpsichord, organ and music theory at Trinity College of Music in London. After 1968, she continued her education at the University of York, where she graduated in composition in 1975. Her teachers included the composers Bernard Rands (York 1971/72), Franco Donatoni (Milan, 1972–74), Roman Haubenstock-Ramati(Vienna, 1974/75) and Klaus Huber (University of Music Freiburg 1975-78, where she also studied harpsichord with Stanislav Heller). She received her Ph. D. in composition from the University of York in 1975. She was awarded composition grants from the Department of Education and Science (1971–74) and the German Academic Exchange Service (1975–78).

In 1979 Vivienne Olive became a lecturer in music theory and composition at the Nuremberg Meistersinger Conservatory (now the College of Music Nuremberg). In 1980 she co-founded the Days of New Music in Nuremberg. In 1995 she became a board member of the International Working Women and Music. In 1993-95 she taught at the University of Ballarat and the James Cook University in Australia and in 2005 she became Composer in Residence at Bundanon, New South Wales.

Honours

• 1993 Hameln Youth Music School Award (for An English Suite)
• 1998 1st Prize in the competition of Leni Neuenschwander GEDOK (for As if a garden, Homage to Hildegard von Bingen)
• Award of the Stuttgart Bach Academy (for Stabat Mater)
• Stuttgart Composition Prize (for Tomba di Bruno)

Selected works

Ensemble and orchestral

• Music for tuba and orchestra (2002)
• The River Runs across the Page for flute, clarinet, glockenspiel, xylophone and strings (2004)

Chamber music

• Rondel for viola and piano (1979)
• ... Is the Flower of the Heart of Man ... for bass flute (1985); track after a poem by Ono no Komachi, English by Arthur Waley
• Pantjelang Lullaby for viola and cello (1995)
• ... And the Willows Drowse and Sleep ... after a poem by Carl Sandburg for harp, or for flute, viola and harp (2002)
• The Light of the Mind for erhu (or violin) (2002)
• Bush Gin Rag for piano (2004)
• Ceilidh for accordion (2005)

Vocal

• At All, at All ... for 3 mezzo-sopranos and 3 violas (1971)
• Ripples Of Rivers Unseen for counter-tenor and drums (2002); words by Walt Whitman
• Sun Love Came Quietly for female choir (SSA), ad libitum with accompaniment (keyboard (2002); words by John Shaw Neilson
• Of Broken Wings and Artificial Flowers, 4 Songs for mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano (2004); words by Anna Nicholson Kerdijk

Students

Noted students include:

• Uwe Strübing (1956)
• Ralf R. Ollertz (1964)
• Jochen Stübenrath (1974)

External links

• Sound carrier of Vivienne Olive in the German National Library catalogue
• Official website