Her interest and fascination with sound and all things musical is rooted in childhood experiences. Listening to the soundscape and receiving musical instruction from her mother and grandmother were early influences. Presently Oliveros is based in Kingston, NY and is Artistic Director of Pauline Oliveros Foundation Inc. a non profit program for the arts which she founded in 1985 to support the creation of new works in the arts. She composes for a variety of ensembles and she travels to distant parts of the world with her accordion to perform her own music solo. Oliveros founded Deep Listening Band, originated and leads Deep Listening Retreats and Trainings in ways of listening and sounding creatively.
Participants range from music professionals to persons without any formal training in music.