John Oliver studied composition with John Adams at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (California, USA), with Stephen Chatman at UBC (BMus, 1982), with John Rea and Bruce Mather at McGill University (DMus, 1993), and privately with Philippe Boesmans (Brussels, Belgium). His works have been performed in North America, Latin America, Europe and Mexico. John Oliver has written two operas that integrate traditional and electronic instruments. He has received numerous awards, including the Grand Prize at the 8th CBC National Radio Competition for Young Composers in 1988 and the City of Varese Prize at the 11th Luigi Russolo Competition in 1989, both for El Reposo del Fuego (1987). John Oliver is a member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC) and as Associate Member of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC).

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