Pauline Oliveros is widely recognized as one of America's most important composers of the 20th and 21st century. A leader of the avant-garde and a pioneer of improvisatory music, alternate tuning systems, contemporary accordion playing, electronics and multimedia events, Oliveros continues to be a vital force through her continuing performance and compositional practice. Oliveros served as the first director of the storied San Francisco Tape Music Center, where she worked alongside renowned artists like Morton Subotnick, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Don Buchla, and John Cage to help shape electronic music in the US. In 1988 as a result of descending 14 feet into an underground cistern to make a recording, Oliveros coined the term "Deep Listening" a pun that has blossomed into, "an aesthetic based upon principles of improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation. This aesthetic is designed to inspire both trained and untrained performers to practice the art of listening and responding to environmental conditions in solo and ensemble situations."

Oliveros will be performing at this year’s CTM Festival on February 4, 5, and 6.