Forging Utopia

Other recordings: to listen to various live performances and recordings not available anywhere, go to the Listen Page.

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  1. Face in the Abstract (excerpt) performed by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra/Russell
  2. Forging Utopia (excerpt) performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra/D.A.Miller
  3. Raven Steals the Light (excerpt) performed by the CBC Radio Orchestra/Lacombe
  4. Unseen Rain (excerpt) performed by Judith Forst with the CBC Radio Orchestra/Bernardi

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Oliver's third solo CD

  • a Centrediscs release featuring the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the CBC Radio Orchestra and the Windsor Symphony
  • Title track winner of the Classical Composition of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards 2013
This is a collection of my orchestral music from eleven years, 1995 - 2006. Forging Utopia was inspired by Mark Kingwell's book, “Dreams of Millennium” and by a channel-changing, cultural mash-up paradigm. “Unseen Rain” takes the listener into the mystical world of the Persian poet Rumi by way of aphoristic miniatures. “Face in the Abstract” is inspired by the canvases of Anselm Keefer and Johannes Deutsch. And “Raven Steals the Light” tells the story of the creation of the world according to the ancient Haida legend, as retold by Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst.
  • …a rip-roaring tour-de-force… Olivia Giovetti, WQXR
  • "A tour de force of orchestral writing, this work is a delightful listening experience." Elaine Keillor, CAML Review.
  • Oliver at his best…[these] are all imposing pieces… Ronald E. Grimes, FANFARE magazine
  • …four powerful orchestral works…an important addition to the Canadian orchestral discography. David Olds, The Wholenote magazine
  • The big piece is last. Raven Steals the Light offers 23 minutes of harmonic richness, often strong, sometimes mild. Ingenious and fascinating sound effects are created without extended playing techniques. The action never quits and continuously unfolds. Kudos to Jacques Lacombe and the CBC Radio Orchestra. American Record Guide, November/December 2012

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