A Composer, Staying Busy With New Sounds At 80

Pauline Oliveros “eludes induction into the pantheon. In place of scores suited for assimilation into the Western classical canon, Ms. Oliveros offers ‘Sonic Meditations,’ a 1971 collection of text-based contemplations, meant to facilitate communal music making. Deep listening, a discipline she developed during the 1990s, bypasses conventional music theory in favor of expanding consciousness through cultivating a keener ear.”