Juventas’s will perform two of Oliver’s works at its October 26 program “Roots & Wings,” Illuminated by the Light of Two Ships Passing in the Night (violin, cello, piano) and The Big Deception (soprano, mezzo, cello, piano). The program presents works from Juventas’s early years paired with pieces by the same composers today.

Commissioned by Juventas in 2009, Illuminated by the Light of Two Ships Passing in the Night was the first work of Oliver’s that Juventas performed, the beginning of an artistic relationship that has now spanned over ten years. On the strength of that Juventas premiere, Illuminated quickly became Oliver’s most performed work. The piece has been presented 16 times in 8 states and is the grand prize winner of the 2010 Fifth House Ensemble Young Composer Competition. The music is an ode to ephemeral moments of beauty, inspired by a piece of conceptual art Lawrence Weiner.

The Big Deception, commissioned in 2019 by White Snake Projects, is one of Oliver’s newest works. It reflects his recent drive to use music as a tool for amplifying important social stories and speaking to our time. The piece sets the story of Irene Da Silva and Ivete Souza, as told in their own words. Irene was approved for a United States Green Card and instructed to return to her native Brazil for her final interview. However, upon visiting the American embassy in Rio, Irene was informed that she had overstayed her American visitor’s visa and couldn’t enter the United States for ten years, even though she had already been approved for a green card. At age 79, she was separated from her daughter and grandchildren, alone in Brazil without her family. Irene persevered for ten long years. At age 89 she was able to return to America, reunite with her family. Yet she can never recover that lost decade.

The concert also includes pairs of early and recent pieces David Biedenbender, Stephanie Ann Boyd and Heather Gilligan.

Saturday, October 26, 7:30pm
First Church Boston
66 Marlborough St.
Boston, MA
Tickets