Des Oliver - Composer
“Oliver’s music cleverly mirrors the patterns of everyday speech with a rhythmic fluency few composers master”
“I found his music utterly compelling, Oliver is plainly a man to watch”
Post-minimalist, and at times impressionistic, infused with African-diasporic influences, Des Oliver's music draws from a variety of genres and styles, and combines driving rhythms with vivid colours, often culminating in mesmerising and immersive musical landscapes.
Commissions include works for the Bach Choir and Faust Chamber Orchestra (Stone Records), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 'Rush' for the Pegasus Opera Company (featured on Channel 4 News), and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. His 'Dionysian Rivers Flow Through Me' was selected for the International Computer Music Conference in Daegu, South Korea. He has composed works for the soloist Clio Gould, All India Radio Artist Shruti Jauhari, The Fusion Project’s Janan Sathiendran, and most recently for accordionist Mingyuan Ruan (winner of 27th IBLA international music competition).
His music has been performed at the South Bank Centre, LSO St Lukes, The Bridewell Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, Oxford Playhouse, The Sheldonian Theatre, Holywell Music Room, Greenwich Theatre, and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
His short Opera commissioned by Tête á Tête in collaboration with librettist Meredith Oakes was reviewed by the Independent, Telegraph, and Observer. Tempo magazine describes his music as 'utterly compelling'. He is currently working on his first full-length Windrush Opera with playwright Patricia Cumper MBE.
International performances include Wegelius Hall in Helsinki, Pärnu Music Festival in Estonia, Akademie múzickych umeni in Prague and at the II Música Nueva Málaga International Festival in Spain, collaborating with soloist Emil Sein and choreographer Lisa Naugle.
Oliver studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Robert Saxton and Simon Bainbridge. He won a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music with Steve Martland, holds a doctorate in composition at Worcester College, Oxford University, and is currently a Jerwood composer with the London Symphony Orchestra.
“The music was superb… it complemented rather than dominated the choric action, and was extremely effective in creating the eerie, disturbing atmosphere which is very much part of the play”