Dr Des Oliver

Des Oliver is a British composer whose work draws together contemporary classical practice, African-diasporic influence and a strong instinct for rhythm, colour and dramatic momentum.

His music has been commissioned and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Chineke!, Faust Chamber Orchestra, Pegasus Opera Company and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. His choral work Dreams in the Garden of Love’s Sleep, commissioned by The Bach Choir, was recorded and released by Stone Records.

His work has been heard at venues including LSO St Luke’s, Southbank Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Beacon, The Tung Auditorium, The Albany, London, Bernie Grant Centre, Oxford Playhouse and the Sheldonian Theatre.

Oliver’s music has been described by Tempo magazine as “utterly compelling”, while Fiona Maddocks wrote in The Observer that his work “cleverly mirrors the patterns of everyday speech with a rhythmic fluency few composers master”. His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and he has also guest-presented BBC's Inside Music. He is also a documentary filmmaker: his series Identity and the Anxiety of Influence was commissioned by Sound and Music for the British Music Collection.

Current projects include Windrush, a full-length opera developed with Pegasus Opera Company and librettist Edson Burton MBE.

Oliver studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Robert Saxton and Simon Bainbridge, and at the Royal Academy of Music with Steve Martland. He later completed a doctorate at Worcester College, University of Oxford, and was a Jerwood Composer+ with the London Symphony Orchestra.

He has taught composition at Brunel University, the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM), Trinity Laban (Jr Dept.), Aldeburgh Young Musicians (AYM) at Snape Maltings, and at the University of Oxford colleges, including Christ Church, University College and Magdalen College.

Des Oliver's Website