RECENT NEWS
NEW ALBUM!! The Organic Texture of Activity! ORGAN MUSIC, played by Carson Cooman. Digital on bandcamp.
New marimba book! 13 Marimba Selections from Playing the Changes. I am looking for people to premiere these, so holler! livingcreaturespress@gmail.com
Clarence and Loretta is in the Media Press Snare Drum Collection! 12 new solos!
Playlist of unique performances of tunes from The Texture of Activity and Playing the Changes.
Carson Cooman plays my toy piano (and some piano) pieces on ORGAN! YouTube playlist here!
ALSO…! Click on the Upcoming Performances tab to see if there are any concerts coming up in your area!
CURRENT PROJECTS:
mandolin solo for Neil Gladd
Pavane and Galliard organ solo for Carson Cooman
music for the Lakeland Civic Orchestra
CLAMS, a percussion duet for Bill Sallak and Elizabeth Delamater
RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS:
Rat-ass Bastards!, a piano solo for Amy O’Dell
that other kind of timing, a toy piano solo (2 instruments; 1 in each hand) for Carson Cooman
Clarence and Loretta for solo snare drum with toy piano for the Media Press Snare Drum Collection.
BIO
Dr. Olivia Kieffer is a composer, percussionist, and educator who creates energetic, life-giving music that blends fantasy and reality. From adventures with toy pianos and slide whistles, to scores for traditional ensembles large and small, her work embraces the ecstatic, the silly, and the heartfelt—seeking to bring joy to uncertain places. Olivia is a native of Wisconsin and was educated at the University of Miami (DMA in Composition), the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Georgia State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has held faculty positions at Grand Valley State University and Reinhardt University and has taught composition, theory, percussion, and world music. As a percussionist at home in both classical and rock worlds, Olivia is a member of smol ensemble, and was previously a member of the Chix with Stix Percussion Group and the bandleader/drummer for Clibber Jones Ensemble.
Olivia’s musical mentors include percussionists Allen Otte and Stuart Gerber, and composers Marc Mellits, Douwe Eisenga, William Susman, Jon Welstead, Charles N. Mason, and Lansing McLoskey. She is best-known for her collections of 127 widely-played toy piano miniatures (which have also emerged in new guises played on many different instruments) and her exuberantly apocalyptic concert band work …and then the Universe exploded. Her catalog of more than 200 pieces includes music for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles of both unusual and traditional scoring, and solo music for various instruments. Olivia formerly served on the Percussive Arts Society Composition Committee and the Diversity Alliance, and is a member of the International Alliance for Women in Music.
MY YOUTUBE PAGE
Ensembles and performers who have commissioned Olivia’s music include:
Mid America Freedom Band
Lakeland Civic Orchestra
Reinhardt University Symphonic Winds
Grand Valley State University Symphony Orchestra
University of Missouri – St. Louis Bands
GremlinsDuo
A/B Duo
fivebyfive
Bent Frequency Duo Project
Deuson Pilkington Duo
Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble
Pop Rock in Metal sax quartet consortium
Society for New Music
smol ensemble
Kontra Duo
Guitarists Darren Nelsen and Matthew Linder
Percussionists Brandon Dodge, Nathaniel Gworek, Colleen Phelps, Elizabeth Delameter and Bill Sallak
Toy pianists Amy O’Dell and Tricia Dawn Williams
Mandolinist Neil Gladd
Saxophonists Nicki Roman and Michael Hernandez
Pianist Amy O’Dell
Tubists Bill Pritchard and Josh Sevigny
Flutist Laura Lentz
Clarinetist Garret VanArsdale
Chamber Music Conference
Florida International Toy Piano Festival
SENSORIA
Charlotte New Music Festival
Mana Saxophone Institute
Forage & Flourish Contemporary Music Festival