Encounters with Jocy de Oliveira – her life and music

Jocy de Oliveira is the composer of the first electroacoustic work in Brazil, created in the 1960s. While she is especially known for her innovation in developing the multimedia opera genre, her oeuvre also includes four groundbreaking piano works. Each of these pieces pushes the boundaries of the instrument through the integration of electronics, theatre, and performance art:

• One Player and Four Keyboards (1967/68), for piano, celesta, harmonium, and harpsichord—all played by a single pianist;
• Wave Song (1981), for piano and tape;
• Encontrodesencontro (1985), for piano and live electronics, multiple keyboards, or piano and tape;
• and the video performance Noturno de um Piano (2006/2007).

In this performance-talk, Késia Decoté will perform selected piano works by de Oliveira, with Juan Vassallo contributing live electronics. Késia will also reflect on the process of rediscovering de Oliveira’s music, exploring themes of performative dialogue, adaptation, and memory.

Késia Decoté is a Brazilian pianist and toy pianist based in Bergen, Norway. She holds a PhD and MA (Distinction) in Music from Oxford Brookes University, and earned her Masters and Undergraduate degrees (Cum laude) in Piano from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Specialising in contemporary and interdisciplinary music, Késia collaborates with composers and explores innovative performance formats. Her debut solo album Para a frente (Nonclassical) features works for piano and toy piano by emerging UK composers. Other releases include Hour (improvisations with cellist Bruno Guastalla) and Isolation (miniatures by Charlotte Botterill). A passionate advocate for women composers, she has toured with Illuminate Women’s Music and is a DONNE UK ambassador. Késia recently completed a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral project, music as an invitation, exploring new forms of participation of women and girls in classical music performances.

Juan S. Vassallo is an Argentinian experimental artist and researcher based in Bergen, Norway, holding a Ph.D. in Artistic Research from the University of Bergen. His practice is situated at the intersection of instrumental and electronic composition, improvisation, and performance, and explores how technology can extend and transform traditional musical practices while emphasizing the embodied and physical dimensions of sound-making. Rooted in his Argentinian popular heritage –particularly tango and folk traditions– some of his music blends traditional narratives and forms of expression into contemporary experimental contexts. Collaboration and interdisciplinarity are central to his approach, encompassing projects that integrate visual art, choreography, narrative, and performance. Juan’s music has been performed internationally by leading ensembles and soloists and presented at major contemporary music festivals and residencies.