HECTOR OLIVERA

Internationally acclaimed organist, Hector Olivera, began his career as a child prodigy, becoming the head of the Organ Department at the University of Buenos Aires when he was just 18 years old. Since then, he has dazzled audiences around the globe, performing in such incredible venues as Cathedral de Notre Dame, Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, The Crystal Cathedral, Constitution Hall, and Spivey Hall in Atlanta to name just a few, and has achieved virtual “hero” status in Argentina, playing standing-room-only for concerts attended by the heads of state and national celebrities. He has played with major symphonies all over Europe, the United States and Asia, and has even been a guest on NPR’s popular radio show, Prairie Home Companion, where, according to host Garrison Keillor himself, he “…literally stopped the show.”

Mr. Olivera has released more than 20 CD recordings from classical to contemporary and film score transcriptions. Although best known for his technical proficiency, the true connection he makes with audiences results from the fact that he plays from his soul and creates a mood or emotion with every piece. He is a passionate, gifted and unique musician whose very personal interpretations of both classical and popular works continue to leave audiences in absolute awe.

“It is totally impossible, in print, to adequately describe and do justice to the brilliance of his technique.”
-- International Organ Festival, Manchester, England

“Olivera swept the audience with absolute Olympic virtuosity and that still doesn’t say it… Hector Olivera is in a class by himself.”
-- The Atlantic Journal

HECTOR OLIVERA - Internationally Acclaimed Organist

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hector Olivera’s first musical studies began with his father. He started playing the pipe organ at age three, was appointed organist for the Church of the Immaculate Conception two years later and, at six, entered the Buenos Aires Conservatory to study harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. It was here that he began to develop the art of improvisation and, by the age of nine, had composed a suite for oboe and string orchestra that was performed by the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra.

He entered the University of Buenos Aires at age 12. By 18, he had performed more than 300 concerts throughout Latin America and had appeared frequently on national radio and television. During this time, Mr. Olivera also served for three years as the senior improvisational accompanist for the Collegium Musicum in Buenos Aires, a role credited as being a major building block in his noted improvisational abilities.

In 1965, he was offered a scholarship to the prestigious Julliard School of Music in New York and moved to the United States. Three years later, he won the national Improvisation contest sponsored by the American Guild of Organists and began a concert career that spans decades.

Throughout his musical studies, Hector Olivera was taught by the late Hector Zeoli, the distinguished Mr. Vernon de Tar, and the notable Juan Francisco Giaccobe.

In addition to concerts in the United States, Mr. Olivera has performed in Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Mexico, and throughout Latin America. Notable venues include the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Crystal Cathedral, Spivey Hall, Constitution Hall, Balboa Park and the Myerson Concert Hall in Dallas, Texas. He was the featured organist at the 1978, 1980 and 1984 International Organ Festivals in Manchester, UK. As a tribute to Virgil Fox, Hector Olivera performed a solo concert at St. Paul’s Cathedral in New York City, in conjunction with the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts.

In 1988, after years of performing and residing in the United States, Mr. Olivera was invited to play once again in Argentina. Upon his arrival, he was treated as a national hero, with standing-room- only concerts attended by heads of state and celebrities. He also was featured in numerous radio shows and television appearances.

Hector has performed as guest soloist with orchestras throughout the world, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fort Wayne Symphony, the Dover-New Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Amsterdam Baroque Ensemble, the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Jahja Ling and the Pasadena Symphony, conducted by Jorge Mester. In collaboration with the Pasadena Symphony, a numbered and limited Gold CD edition was released, featuring Hector as soloist, performing the Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 on the five manual Möller pipe organ.

In the Times Reporter, famed composer, Robert Vandall, described Olivera’s performance with the Tuscarawas Philharmonic as “an opportunity to hear and see greatness.” In 1992, Mr. Olivera had the unique experience of being the featured performer at the American Guild of Organists’ convention held at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. This event included the world premier of a commissioned composition, written by William Albright. Later, from the same famed theatre, as a guest on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, Hector “literally stopped the show,” according to Keillor himself. In 1996, Hector Olivera was the artist of choice to perform at Spivey Hall in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games cultural event, for which he received multiple standing ovations and rave reviews. In 2002, Olivera was invited once again to perform for the AGO, where his transcription of Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” resulted in spontaneous standing ovations by his peers.

In addition to performing in concert halls throughout the world and dedication recitals in churches and symphony halls, Mr. Olivera is a consultant for the design of both new and refurbished pipe organs. Hector presently works with the world’s renowned electronic organ manufacturers, the prestigious Roland Corporation and Rodgers Instruments, both endorsing their products and contributing to the development of their organs.

High school music directors often invite Hector to help encourage future generations to share his love for the organ.

Mr. Olivera has released more than 20 recordings, from classical to contemporary and film score transcriptions. He continues to thrill audiences both with solo classical literature and his own orchestral transcriptions. Although he is known for his technical proficiency, the true connection he makes with audiences results from the fact that he plays from his soul and creates a mood or emotion with every piece. Hector Olivera is a passionate, gifted and unique musician whose very personal interpretations of both classical and popular music literature continue to leave his worldwide audiences in awe.

-- RaymondLutz - 15 Mar 2005