Olivia Kieffer

From Wind Repertory Project
Olivia Kieffer

Biography

Olivia Kieffer (b. 1980, Wisconsin) is an American composer, percussionist, and educator.

Ms. Kieffer has degrees in percussion from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with Allen Otte and the Percussion Group Cincinnati; and Georgia State University, studying with Stockhausen specialist Stuart Gerber. She studied composition with Jon Welstead at UW – Milwaukee, where she earned a master’s degree in music theory and composition. She completed doctoral studies in music composition at University of Miami, studying with Lansing McLoskey and Charles Norman Mason.

She feels at home in both the classical and rock worlds, and was an active performer in Atlanta’s vibrant contemporary classical music scene for over a decade, including her work as bandleader and drummer for the seven-piece chamber rock band Clibber Jones Ensemble. She is a long-time member of the Chix With Stix Percussion Group, and was timpanist for the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra. She also performed regularly with the Terminus Ensemble and Bent Frequency, and 2015-2017 was co-director of the Reinhardt Contemporary Arts Festival and Atlanta’s SoundNOW Festival.

Since 2012, her compositions have been performed both nationally and internationally. She has enjoyed performances by many ensembles and soloists, including the Mana Chamber Players; the A/B Duo; GremlinsDuo; BF Duo; and many university and community bands.

Her projects and compositions have been highlighted in Journal for the International Alliance for Women in Music, ArtsAtl, TomTom Magazine, and she is a guest writer for New Music Box and EarRelevant.

Ms. Kieffer is former adjunct music faculty at Reinhardt University (2009 – 2017), where she taught applied percussion lessons and world music, and directed the percussion ensemble. In 2017 she was composer in residence at the Florida International Toy Piano Festival, and the Mana Saxophone Institute.


Works for Winds

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 374.
  • Olivia Kieffer, personal correspondence, May 2018 and June 2019
  • Olivia Kieffer website Accessed 24 May 2018