Julia Wolfe (b.1958)

Julia Wolfe’s music is distinguished by an intense physicality and a relentless power that pushes performers to extremes and demands attention from the audience. She draws inspiration from folk, classical and rock genres, bringing a modern sensibility to each while simultaneously tearing down the walls between them.

In addition to receiving the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music, Wolfe was a 2016 MacArthur Fellow. She received the 2015 Herb Alpert Award in Music, and was named Musical America’s 2019 Composer of the Year. Julia Wolfe is co-founder/co-artistic director of New York’s legendary music collective Bang on a Can, and is artistic director of NYU Steinhardt Music Composition.

Wolfe’s recent premieres include Pretty – premiered in June 2023 by conductor Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic, it was co-commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. UnEarth, was commissioned and premiered in June 2023 by the New York Philharmonic. Her Story, a 45-minute semi-staged work for orchestra and women’s chamber choir, received its world premiere in September 2022 with the Nashville Symphony, conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, the vocal ensemble Lorelei, and stage direction by Anne Kauffman.

www.juliawolfemusic.com