Announcement via OHAM and Libby Van Cleve:
"Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) and her compositions have helped me learn how to: breathe, listen and respond, consider ability and access, consider music as community, pay attention, be aware, and empower myself as a “two-legged human being, a female, lesbian, musician, composer, among other things which contribute to [my] identity...devoted to the elevation and equalization of the feminine principle...” (quoted from Oliveros’ biography in the 1971 issue of Source Magazine). I will forever be grateful for her impact on me as a musician and as an individual." - Alexis Lamb
Based on interviews with Pauline Oliveros
Alexis Lamb, composer
Camille Tassi, video
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Alexis C. Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator who is interested in fostering communities of mindful music-making. Lamb is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Composition at Yale School of Music. Her music can be found on Innova Recordings and National Sawdust Tracks. (Website: https://alexislamb.com/)
Camilla Tassi is a projection designer and musician from Florence, Italy. Interested in how the visual medium contextualizes the performance of contemporary and period composition, she has designed for groups and festivals such as PROTOTYPE (NYC), Apollo's Fire, Berlin Opera Academy, and Yale Opera. Coming from formal backgrounds in computer science and music, she has directed oratorio, is a coloratura soprano, and is an MFA candidate at the Yale School of Drama. (Website: https://www.camillatassi.com/).
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Since its founding fifty years ago at Yale University, Oral History of American Music (OHAM) has been dedicated to the collection and preservation of the voices of the major musical figures of our time. How best to celebrate fifty years of this inspiring work? The primary focus of OHAM has been composers and creative musicians, and we returned to the same population and encouraged a burst of creativity and a unique way to pay homage to past interviewees. We invited students, faculty, and friends to create pieces using OHAM recordings as source material. The reVox works reflect a wide range of musical figures, from Charles Ives to Laurie Anderson; white, black, and Hispanic; male and female; classical, jazz, and experimental music. The natural choices of these creative artists echoed the diversity that is OHAM, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.
Special thanks to Jack Vees and Alexis Lamb, curators, and to Dana Karwas and Christopher Mir of Yale's Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, where these works were first presented.
--Libby Van Cleve
Director, OHAM
January, 2020