(b. 1961, Toronto, Ontario).

Canadian composer of mostly stage, chamber, choral, and vocal works that have been performed in Asia, Europe and North America.

Mr. Rolfe studied composition with John Beckwith at the University of Toronto from 1979–84, where he earned his BMus and MMus. He later studied composition with Paul Lansky and Steven Mackey at Princeton University from 1995–99, on the Naumburg Fellowship, and there earned his MFA.

Among his honours are the Guggenheim Fellowship (2000), the K. M. Hunter Music Award (2003), the Louis Applebaum Composer's Award (2005), the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music from the Canada Council for the Arts (2006, for raW), the Outstanding Choral Work Award from Choral Canada (2014, for Open Road), and the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize (2019). His music has been performed in Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, and the USA, including once at the ISCM World Music Days (1997, Seoul).

He has taught composition as a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto since 2007.

SELECT LIST OF WORKS

STAGE:

Beatrice Chancy (opera, libretto by George Elliott Clarke), 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, 2 baritones, bass, piano, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 1998

Fire (music-theatre work, text by André Alexis), 4 female voices, 1999

Orpheus and Eurydice (opera, text by André Alexis), 3 sopranos, alto, 2 tenors, baritone, bass, 2 recorders, theorbo, 2 violins, 2 violas da gamba, cello, harpsichord, 2004

Rosa (chamber opera, libretto by Camyar Chai), soprano, tenor, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2004

Elijah's Kite (opera for young audiences, libretto by Camyar Chai), 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, children's chorus, bass guitar, electronic keyboard, percussion, 2005

Swoon (chamber opera, libretto by Anna Chatterton), 2 sopranos, tenor, baritone, small orchestra (15 players), 2006

Æneas and Dido (chamber opera, libretto by André Alexis), 3 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, baritone, recorder, oboe, lute, violin, viola, cello, harpsichord, 2007

Inês (opera, libretto by Paul Bentley), soprano, mezzo-soprano, female fado voice, 2 bass-baritones, clarinet, guitar, violin, double bass, piano, 2008

Europa (chamber opera, libretto by Steven Heighton), soprano, baritone, Baroque flute, lute, 2 violins, viola da gamba, portative organ, 2014

Crush (opera, libretto by Anna Chatterton), 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass-baritone, violin, cello, piano, 2015

Pirate Song (mini-opera, libretto by Anna Chatterton), soprano, 2017

The Overcoat (opera, libretto by Morris Panych), 3 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 tenors, 3 baritones, bass, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, electronic keyboard, accordion ad libitum, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 2018

ORCHESTRAL:

Ears, Nose, & Throat, orchestra (8 winds, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, piano, 2 percussion, 22 strings), 1994

Mechanical Danny (text by Dennis Lee), speaker, small orchestra/orchestra (4/8 winds, 3/7 brass, timpani, percussion, strings), 2000

Flourish, accordion, orchestra (8 winds, 10 brass, timpani, 2 percussion, strings), 2005

CHAMBER MUSIC:

Railway Street, bass clarinet, ensemble (violin, cello, double bass, piano, percussion), 1991

Accordion Motel, accordion, 1992

Global Bifurcation and Chaos, contrabassoon, violin, cello, piano, accordion, 1992

James' Theorem, clarinet, 3 saxophones, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar, violin, cello, bass guitar, piano, drum kit, percussion, 1992

Before After, piccolo, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), French horn, 1993

Cello Motel, cello, 1993

Viola Motel, viola, 1993

Violin Motel, violin, 1993

Dissolution, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion, 1994

Devilled Swan, violin, double bass, piano, percussion, 1995

Revenge! Revenge!! Revenge!!!, clarinet, cello, piano, percussion, 1995

Tombeau, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, cello, double bass, piano, 1995

Scroll, flute, English horn, harpsichord, 1996

Squeeze, alto flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, 1997

Bouquet, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1998

Tunnel, string quartet, 1998

Drop, violin, piano, 1999

And Then Grace, violin, viola, cello, 2000

The Connection (player also speaks text by Daniil Kharms [English translation]), bass marimba, amplification ad libitum, 2001

Worry, violin, ensemble (8 cellos), 2001

raW, piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, drum kit, 2003

Freddy's Dead, violin, cello, piano, 2005

Juggle, 2 oboes, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, 2 French horns, 2005

Oboe Quartet, oboe, violin, viola, cello, 2006

Ask You Dance Me, piccolo, oboe, bass clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 2008

Sticky, marimba, 2009

As If, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, 2013

Why You, 4 percussion, 2013

CHORAL:

Déploration (to John Cage) (after Déploration sur la mort de Johannes Ockeghem by Josquin des Prez), 2 countertenors, 2 tenors, bass, 1992

Three Songs (text by E. Pauline Johnson), 4 female voices, 1998

Come lovely and soothing death (text by Walt Whitman), 8 mixed voices, 2000

O that you would kiss me (text from the Song of Solomon), 16 mixed voices, 2001

Under the Sun (text from the Book of Ecclesiastes, edited by the composer), 8 mixed choruses (around hall), 2002

Four Anthems for Four Seasons (text from the Song of Solomon), 10 mixed voices, 2003

Blind (text by Dennis Lee), 8 mixed voices, 2006

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd (text by Walt Whitman), 8 mixed voices, 2006

Lullaby (text by Amanda Jernigan), 4 female voices, marimba, 2010

Two Hopeful Songs for Children's Choir (text by Dennis Lee), 4 children's voices, 2010

Garden (text from the Song of Solomon), 8 mixed voices, 2011

Hope, mixed chorus, orchestra (8 winds, 7 brass, timpani, 2 percussion, strings), 2011

Five and a Half Bridges (song-cycle, text by André Alexis), soprano, mixed chorus, oud (lute from the Middle East), setar (3-string lute from Central Asia), viola da gamba, percussion, 2012

Open Road (text by Walt Whitman), soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, string orchestra, 2013

Shadows (text by D. H. Lawrence), mixed chorus, 2016

Winter Songs (texts by Archibald Lampman, Walt Whitman), 8 mixed voices, brass band, 2017

Kadosh / Sanctus / Holy, 8 mixed voices, cello, 2019

O Greenest Branch (texts by St. Hildegard of Bingen, Ephraim of Bonn, Hayim Nahman Bialik), soprano, female chorus, organ, percussion, 2019

VOCAL:

Four Songs on Poems by Walt Whitman (text by Walt Whitman), bass, piano, 1990

Fêtes de la Faim (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano, flute (+ alto flute), clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1991

Phrases (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano, clarinet, piano, 1991

Plainte (text by the composer, after Sappho), soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1991

Simon & Garfunkel & The Prophets of Rage, any voice, piano, percussion, 1993

Six Songs (song-cycle, text by Walt Whitman), soprano/mezzo-soprano, 2 violins, viola, cello, 2001 (also version for soprano/mezzo-soprano, piano, 2001)

Dust (texts by Wilhelm Müller, the Book of Ecclesiastes), soprano, cello, 2003

Six Illuminations (text by Arthur Rimbaud), soprano, piano, 2003

Beloved (text by Dennis Lee), soprano, mezzo-soprano, piano, fixed media, 2005

Bird, soprano, small orchestra (15 players), 2005 (collaboration with John Oswald)

Swipe (text by Anna Chatterton), soprano, piano, 2005

Joyce Songs (8 songs, text by James Joyce), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, piano, 2009

Breathe (texts by St. Hildegard of Bingen, Anna Chatterton, Antonio Scandello), 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, recorder, lute, violin, chamber organ, percussion, 2010

Tango: Del Amor Imprevisto (text by Federico García Lorca), alto, violin, double bass, piano, bandoneón, 2011

Winter (song-cycle, text by Archibald Lampman), tenor, 8 cellos, 2012

Fresh Face, soprano, harp, 2013

Moths (song-cycle, text by André Alexis), baritone/bass-baritone, piano, 2013

Against Nature (song-cycle, text by Alex Poch-Goldin), 2 bass-baritones, violin, cello, piano, 2016

Three Lampman Songs (text by Archibald Lampman), soprano, violin, cello, piano, 2016

Clinical Notes of the Bipolar Therapist (text by Steven Heighton), baritone, piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2017

Three Songs for Young Singers, soprano, piano, 2017

I Think We Are Angels (song-cycle, text by Else Lasker-Schüler [translated by the composer]), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, accordion, 2018

Happy Happy, tenor, piano, 2019

Last Paddle (text by Richard Sanger), baritone, piano, 2020

Moon (text by Choucri Paul Zemokhol), baritone, piano, 2020

Namesake (text by Giovanna Riccio), baritone, piano, 2020

After the Love at Victoria Street (text by Boyd Warren Chubbs), baritone, piano, 2021

and then a second dream (text by Luciano Iacobelli), baritone, piano, 2021

For E. J. P. (text by Leonard Cohen), baritone, piano, 2021

Minuet (text by Astrid Brunner), baritone, piano, 2021

Phoenix IV (text by Bänoo Zan), baritone, piano, 2021

Prelude (text by Astrid Brunner), baritone, piano, 2021

Set Me as a Seal (text from the Song of Solomon), mezzo-soprano/alto, baritone, piano, 2021

To the Poet (text by George Elliott Clarke), baritone, piano, 2021

v (text by Amatoritsero Ede), baritone, piano, 2021

Wound Turned to Light (text by Andrea Thompson), baritone, piano, 2021

Asleep in Her Arms (text by Stephen Morrissey), baritone, piano, 2022

Bombastic (text by George Elliott Clarke), baritone, piano, 2022

Burning in This Midnight Dream (text by Louise B. Halfe), baritone, piano, 2022

Caeneus (text by Luke Hathaway), baritone, piano, 2022

The Desert (text by Gwendolyn MacEwen), baritone, piano, 2022

For Aviva, Because I Love Her (text by Irving Layton), baritone, piano, 2022

If You See Me Fall (text by Luke Hathaway), baritone, piano, 2022

Marigold (text by A. F. Moritz), baritone, piano, 2022

Nepewisiwin / Shame (text by Louise B. Halfe), baritone, piano, 2022

Songs of Joy (text from Psalm 126), mezzo-soprano/alto, baritone, piano, 2022

Spirit Tree (text by Anna Yin), baritone, piano, 2022

Water (text by Gwendolyn MacEwen), baritone, piano, 2022

The Way Spring Jabs (text by Ayesha Chatterjee), baritone, piano, 2022

PIANO:

Idiot Sorrow, 1990

Discontinuous Probability Field Nos. 1–4, 1993

Discontinuous Probability Field No. 5, 1993

Thin Air, 1995

Lilacs, 1999

Four Alibis, 2022

Passage, 2023

DIDACTIC MUSIC:

Songs and Rounds, 4 soprano recorders, orchestra (8 winds, 7 brass, percussion, strings), 2001 (also version for 4 soprano recorders, piano, 2001; its three movements may be performed separately: Two Rounds; Deux chansons québécoises; Finale)