Oliver is a Semi-Finalist for the 2021 American Prize in Vocal Chamber Music Composition, for The Big Deception!

Scored for soprano, mezzo, cello and piano, The Big Deception shares 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. Irene’s daughter, Ivete Souza, bought her mother a roundtrip plane ticket to Rio, and back to their home in Boston. 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. Faced with a decade apart, Irene worried she wouldn’t live long enough to return to America.

Irene persevered for ten long years. At age 89 she was able to return to America, reunite with her family and meet her great grandchildren. Yet she can never recover that lost decade.