Julia Wolfe (born December 18, 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and professor of music at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe's music has "long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are recharged by the repetitive patterns of minimalism and the driving energy of rock". Her work ''

Anthracite Fields ''Anthracite Fields'' is an oratorio for choir and chamber ensemble by the American composer Julia Wolfe. The work was commissioned by the Mendelssohn Club with contributions from New Music USA and was premiered by Bang on a Can All Stars and ...

'', an oratorio for chorus and instruments, was awarded the 2015

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

. She has also received the Herb Alpert Award (2015) and was named a

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

(2016).

Life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Wolfe has a twin brother and an older brother. As a teenager, she learned piano but she only began to study music seriously after taking a musicianship class at the University of Michigan, where she received a BA in music and theater as a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1982. In her early twenties, Wolfe wrote music for an all-female theatre troupe. On a trip to New York, she became friends with composition students Michael Gordon and David Lang, both of whom had recently attended the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

and who encouraged her to apply. She went to Yale in 1984 and studied primarily with

Martin Bresnick Martin Bresnick (born 1946) is a composer of contemporary classical music, film scores and experimental music. Education and early career Bresnick grew up in the Bronx, and is a graduate of New York City's specialized High School of Music and A ...

, and she married Michael Gordon the same year. After receiving her M.M. in 1986, Wolfe, Gordon, and Lang founded the new music collective

Bang on a Can Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Called "the cou ...

in 1987. Bang on a Can is now an organization with a concert series and tours, and a summer festival in the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

for emerging composers and performers. Wolfe, Gordon, and Lang founded Red Poppy Music in 1993 as a printed music publishing company. The three-founded record label

Cantaloupe Music Cantaloupe Music is a Brooklyn-based record label that produces and releases contemporary classical music and other forms of avant-garde music. The label was founded in 2001 by Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Kenny Savelson. Gordo ...

in 2001. Wolfe received a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to Amsterdam in 1992. In 2012, Wolfe received a PhD in composition from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. She has been a professor of music composition at

in the Steinhardt School since 2009, prior to which she was an adjunct professor at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

for seven years. In 2015, Wolfe won the Pulitzer Prize for music for her work ''Anthracite Fields'', and in 2016 she was named a MacArthur Fellowship recipient. In 2018, she was a recipient of an honorary degree from

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...

in New Jersey. Wolfe held the 2021–22 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. Wolfe and Gordon are married and have two children. They live in lower Manhattan.

Music

Wolfe has written a major body of work for strings, from quartets to full orchestra. Her quartets, as described by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine "combine the violent forward drive of rock music with an aura of minimalist serenity

sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

the four instruments as a big guitar, whipping psychedelic states of mind into frenzied and ecstatic climaxes." Wolfe's '' Cruel Sister'' for string orchestra, inspired by a traditional English ballad of a love rivalry between sisters, was commissioned by the

Munich Chamber Orchestra The Munich Chamber Orchestra (german: Münchener Kammerorchester, links=no, italic=no, or MKO) is a German chamber orchestra based in Munich. Its primary concert venue is the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The MKO also gives concerts in Munich at s ...

, received its US premiere at the

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...

, and was released (along with her other string orchestra piece, ''Fuel'') on Cantaloupe Music. Written shortly after September 11, 2001, her string quartet concerto ''

My Beautiful Scream ''My Beautiful Scream'' is a concerto for amplified string quartet and orchestra by the American composer Julia Wolfe. The work was jointly commissioned by Radio France, the Basel Sinfonietta, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic for the Kronos Quartet. ...

'', written for

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

and the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

(premiered in the US at the

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is an annual Festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic music by living composers. The music director since 2017 has been Cristian Măcelaru. According to Jesse Rosen, CEO of the League of American Orc ...

under the direction of

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...

), was inspired by the idea of a slow motion scream. ''The Vermeer Room'', ''Girlfriend'', and ''Window of Vulnerability'' show Wolfe's ability to create vivid sonic images. ''Girlfriend'', for mixed chamber ensemble and recorded sound, uses a haunting audio landscape that consists of skidding cars and breaking glass. ''The Vermeer Room'', inspired by the

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

painting " A Girl Asleep"—which when x-rayed reveals a hidden figure—received its orchestral premiere with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

. In ''Window of Vulnerability'', written for the

American Composers Orchestra The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in New York City, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including: * Zankel Hall at ...

and conducted by

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...

, Wolfe creates a massive sonic universe of dense textures and fragile windows. The influence of pop culture can be heard in many of Wolfe's works, including ''Lick'' and ''Believing'' for the Bang on a Can All-Stars. ''Lick'', based on fragments of funk, has become a manifesto for the new generation of pop-influenced composers. The raucous ''My Lips From Speaking'' for six pianos was inspired by the opening riff of the

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

tune "Think". Wolfe's ''Dark Full Ride'' is an obsessive and relentless exploration of the drum set, beginning with an extended hi-hat spotlight, while ''Lad'' is a piece for nine bagpipes. Wolfe drew on oral histories, interviews, geography, local rhymes, and coal advertisements for her Pulitzer Prize-winning piece ''

'', an oratorio about the coal mining community of her native

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

which premiered in Philadelphia and was performed at the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Biennial in the spring of 2014. In 2015–16, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, with first the

Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...

and then the Danish Radio Vocal Society, gave ''Anthracite Fields'' its West Coast and European premieres, and Cantaloupe Music released the studio recording, featuring the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Wolfe's interest in labor history has informed her recent work, including '' Steel Hammer'', an evening-length art-ballad that was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. The text is culled from more than 200 versions of the John Henry legend and based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales that explore the subject of human versus machine. Premiered by the Trio Mediaeval and the Bang on a Can All-Stars, ''Steel Hammer'' was presented in a fully staged version by director

Anne Bogart Anne Bogart (born September 25, 1951) is an American theatre and opera director. She is currently one of the Artistic Directors of SITI Company, which she founded with Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. She is a professor at Columbia Univ ...

and her

SITI Company The Saratoga International Theater Institute (also known as SITI) was an ensemble-based theater company based in New York City and Saratoga Springs, New York. SITI was founded in 1992 by American director Anne Bogart and Japanese director Ta ...

at the University of Illinois, UCLA, Virginia Tech, OZ Arts Nashville, and BAM in 2015. Following her folk interests and the tradition of body percussion in American folk music also led her to compose ''riSE and fLY'', a concerto for body percussionist

Colin Currie Colin David Currie (born 25 September 1976) is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. He is the founder and leader of the Colin Currie Group, an ensemble dedicated to performing and recording the music of Steve Reich. Biography Early years Colin ...

. The piece premiered in 2012 with the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

, conducted by

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carol ...

, and premiered in the Netherlands with the Codarts Ensemble and the United States with the

Albany Symphony Orchestra The Albany Symphony Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in Albany, New York. Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian-born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony ...

in the 2014–15 season. Her most recent orchestral work, ''

Fire in my mouth ''Fire in my mouth'' is an oratorio for girls' choir, women's choir, and orchestra by the American composer Julia Wolfe. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Jaap van Zweden and was completed in August 2018. ...

'', was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered at

David Geffen Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designe ...

on January 25, 2019. The piece was based on extensive research into the

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The ...

Music for film and theatre

Wolfe's work with film includes ''Fuel'' for the Hamburg-based

Ensemble Resonanz The Ensemble Resonanz is a German string ensemble that combines the performance and promotion of Neue Musik with the interpretation of classical repertoire. It sees itself at the interface between chamber orchestra and soloist ensemble ...

and filmmaker Bill Morrison, and ''Impatience'' and ''Combat de Boxe'' for the

Asko/Schönberg AskoSchönberg is a Dutch chamber orchestra that specialises in contemporary classical music, especially that of the 21st century. It was formed by a merger of the ''Asko Ensemble'' and the ''Schönberg Ensemble'' in 2009. Asko Ensemble Fo ...

Ensemble and 1920s film experimentalist

Charles Dekeukeleire Charles Dekeukeleire (27 February 1905 – 2 June 1971) was a Belgian film director. He pioneered modern Belgian film with Henri Storck. He was inspired by French avant-garde cinema, particularly the works of Germaine Dulac. Biography Dekeukel ...

. Wolfe has collaborated with theater artist

Anna Deavere Smith Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in ''The West Wing'' (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series ''Nur ...

, architects

Diller Scofidio + Renfro Diller Scofidio + Renfro is an American interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, the visual arts, and the performing arts. Based in New York City, Diller Scofidio + Renfro is led by four partners – Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo ...

, filmmaker Bill Morrison, Ridge Theater, director

François Girard François Girard (born January 12, 1963) is a French Canadian director and screenwriter from Montreal. Born in Saint-Félicien, Quebec, Girard's career began on the Montreal art video circuit. In 1990, he produced his first feature film, ''Car ...

, Jim Findlay, and choreographer Susan Marshall, among others. Her music has been heard at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

, the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, Settembre Musica (Italy),

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Inc ...

(Paris),

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, and

, and has been recorded on

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

, Point/Universal,

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

, and Argo/Decca. Wolfe received a 2000

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

Grants to Artists Award. Her music for theatre includes the score for

's ''House Arrest'', and she won an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

for her score to Ridge Theater's ''Jennie Richie''. She has composed a series of collaborative multimedia works with composers Michael Gordon and David Lang, including ''Lost Objects'' (

Concerto Köln Concerto Köln is an ensemble specialising in music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The group formed in 1985, one of many groups associated with the surging interest in period instruments in that decade. Its members consisted mainly o ...

, directed by

, libretto by Deborah Artman), ''Shelter'' (

musikFabrik The Ensemble Musikfabrik (music factory ensemble) is an ensemble for contemporary classical music located in Cologne. Their official name is Ensemble Musikfabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. (Ensemble Musikfabrik of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

, Ridge Theater, libretto by Deborah Artman), and ''The Carbon Copy Building'' (with comic-book artist

Ben Katchor Ben Katchor (born November 19, 1951) is an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for the comic strip ''Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer''. He has contributed comics and drawings to ''The Forward'', ''The New Yorker,'' ''Metropoli ...

). Wolfe created the citywide spectacle ''Traveling Music'' with architects

in Bordeaux, France, filling the streets of the old city with 100 musicians walking and riding in pedi-cabs.

Bang on a Can

Wolfe is one of the founders and artistic directors of

(alongside fellow composers Michael Gordon and David Lang), best known for its Marathon Concerts during which an eclectic mix of pieces are performed in succession over the course of many hours while audience members are welcome to come and go as they please. For the twentieth anniversary of their Marathon Concerts, Bang on a Can presented twenty-six hours of uninterrupted music at the World Financial Center

Winter Garden Atrium The Winter Garden Atrium is a 120-foot (36.6 m) tall 10-story glass-vaulted pavilion on Vesey Street in New York City's Brookfield Place (formerly World Financial Center) office complex. Designed by Diana Balmori, the Atrium was originally const ...

in New York City. In 1992, Bang on a Can founded the chamber ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars. Among Bang on a Can's early events were performances by

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

, premieres of

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...

’s epic symphonies for massed electric guitars, and fully staged operas by

Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...

, featuring the composer's original instruments. Wolfe, Gordon, and Lang occasionally collaborate on jointly-composed large-scale staged works, often without revealing which sections each contributed. The opera ''The Carbon Copy Building'', is a collaboration with comic book artist

, received the 2000

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

for Best New American Work. A projected comic strip accompanies and interacts with the singers, and the frames fall away in the telling of the story. Gordon, Wolfe and Lang have subsequently collaborated with writer Deborah Artman on the 'oratorio' ''Lost Objects'', the recording of which was released in summer 2001 (

New Line). A further project, ''Shelter'', is a multi-media work that was commissioned by the ensemble

and features the Scandinavian vocalists Trio Mediaeval in a staged spectacle that, in the words of librettist Deborah Artman, "evokes the power and threat of nature, the soaring frontier promise contained in the framing of a new house, the pure aesthetic beauty of blueprints, the sweet architecture of sound and the uneasy vulnerability that underlies even the safety of our sleep." Shelter was premiered in Cologne, Germany in spring 2005, and received its US premiere in November 2005. Both ''Shelter'' and ''Carbon Copy'' Building were staged by New York's Ridge Theater, in collaboration with Laurie Olinder (visual graphics), Bill Morrison (film-maker) and Bob McGrath (director). In 2017 Chinese singer

Gong Linna Gong Linna (; born 1 August 1975) is a Chinese fusion singer. Her style is one which combines the traditional "lightness" and "ch'i" of centuries-old melodies with new lyrics. She has performed many pieces composed or arranged by her husband, Germ ...

premiered ''Cloud River Mountain,'' written by the three Bang on a Can composers in addition to Lao Luo. They also premiere ''Road Trip,'' a celebration of Bang on a Can's 30-year journey, together at the

in October 2017.

List of works

Orchestra

* ''Fuel'' (2007) – 21 minutes – String orchestra (min 65431) * '' Cruel Sister'' (2004) – 35 minutes – str (min 65431) * ''Tell me everything'' (1994) – 8 minutes – 111.asx.1/1110/2perc/hp.pf/str(amp 2vn, amp va, amp vc, amp db) * ''Window of Vulnerability'' (1991) – 9 minutes – 3(2pic).3.3(bcl).2+cbn/4.3.3(btbn).1/timp.4perc/hp.syn.pf/str * ''The Vermeer Room'' (1989) – 11 minutes – 1(afl).1.1(bcl).1/1.1.btbn.0/2perc/pf/hp/str(2vn, va, vc, db) * ''Amber Waves of Grain'' (1988) – 8 minutes – 2(pic).222/432+btbn.1/4perc/hp/str

Soloist(s) and orchestra

* ''

'' (2018) – approx 60 minutes – multimedia oratorio for 146 female voices & orchestra * ''riSE and fLY'' (2012) – 25 minutes – body percussion/street percussion & orchestra * '' Steel Hammer'' (2009) – 75 minutes – 3 Singers, Appalachian & traditional instruments (Cello, Contrabass, 1 perc, 1 pno, el guit-bjo-dulc, ca/bcl) * ''

'' (2003) – 25 minutes – Soloist(s): amplified string quartet, Orchestra: 3(pic).2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn/4.3.2+btbn.1/4perc/amp pf.hp.ebgtr/str

Large ensemble (7 or more players)

* ''

'' (2014) – 45 minutes – SATB chorus, cl, egtr, perc, pno, vc, db * ''You breathe'' (2013) – 5 minutes – SATB + string quartet * ''Combat de Boxe'' (2011) – 8 minutes – Orchestra * ''Guard My Tongue'' (2009) – 8 minutes – SATB * ''Traveling Music'' (2009) – 100+ musicians of any type * ''Thirst'' (2008) – 27 minutes – SATB and mixed ensemble * ''Stronghold'' (2008) – 25 minutes – 8 Double Basses * ''Lad'' (2007) – 14 minutes – Nine bagpipes * ''Impatience'' (2005) – 37 minutes – 1(pic)111/1111/2perc/hp.pf.egtr/11111 * ''Steam'' (1995) – 7 minutes – fl, vc, eorg, Harry Partch instruments * ''Arsenal of Democracy'' (1993) – 9 minutes – 1(pic).00.ssx+asx+barsx.0/132+btbn.0/bgtr/pf * ''Girlfriend'' (1988) – 18 minutes – all instruments amplified: fl(afl,pic), cl(bcl), full-size MIDI kbd with Electric Organ sound, perc, twelve cheap wine glasses (to be stomped on, 2 per player), vn, vc, audio tape with click track

Soloist(s) and large ensemble (7 or more players)

* Accordion Concerto (''True Love'') (2005) – 20 minutes – Soloist(s): Accordion, Orchestra: 1.1.1(bcl).1/1.1.1.1/perc/hp.pf/str (1.1.1.1.1)

Works for 2–6 Players

*''Retrieve'' (2016) – 10 minutes – cello and double bass *''Splendid hopes'' (2016) – 30 minutes – string quintet * ''Blue Dress for string quartet'' (2015) – 10 minutes – string quartet * ''Cha'' (2015) – 11 minutes – saxophone quartet * ''Reeling'' (2012) – 5 minutes – cl, egtr, perc, pno, vc, db * ''With a blue dress'' on (2010, rev. 2014) – 10 minutes – 5 violins/voice * ''singing in the dead of night'' (2008) – 18 minutes – fl.cl/perc/pno/vn.vc * ''Big Beautiful Dark and Scary'' (2002) – 9 minutes – amplified sextet: clar/b clar, perc, pf, egtr, vc, db * ''Dark Full Ride'' (2002) – 18 minutes – four drum sets * ''Close Together'' (2000) – 18 minutes – cello, percussion, electronic tape * ''Believing'' (1997) – 9 minutes – amplified sextet * ''Mink Stole'' (1997) – 10 minutes – vn, pf * ''Dig Deep'' (1995) – 14 minutes – string quartet * ''Lick'' (1994) – 8 minutes – all instruments amplified: ssx, perc, pf, egtr, vc, db * ''my lips from speaking'' (1993) – 13 minutes – 6 pianos * ''Early That Summer'' (1993) – 12 minutes – str4t * ''Four Marys'' (1991) – 12 minutes – str4t * ''On Seven-Star-Shoes'' (1985) – 6 minutes – fl(pic), ob, cl(bcl), bn, hn

Solo

* ''Spinning'' (2018) – 60 minutes – Cello * ''Spinning Jenny'' (2016) – 4 minutes – Violin * ''Emunah'' (2015) – 10 minutes – Cello * ''Lass'' (2014) – 8 minutes – Flute * ''Iron Maiden'' (2011) – 12 minutes – Percussion * ''Compassion'' (2001) – 7 minutes – Piano * ''Earring'' (2001) – 2 minutes – Piano * ''East Broadway'' (1996) – 3 minutes – Toy piano, toy boombox

Collaborations

* ''Road Trip'' (2017) – 60 minutes. Music by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. – cl, pno, perc, gtr, vc, db * ''Cloud-River-Mountain'' (2015) – 20 minutes. Music by Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Lao Luo. – soprano, cl, perc, gtr, piano, vc, db * ''Water'' (2008) – 76 minutes. Music and text by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. – SATB, 1.1.1.1(cbn)/1.1.1.0/2perc/pf/egtr/str(1.1.1.1.1) ll instruments and voices amplified* ''Shelter'' (2005) – 65 minutes. Music by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. Text by Deborah Artman. – 3 Sop, fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, tbn, tba, pno, e gtr, e bgtr, perc, 2 vln, vla, vc, cb ll instruments and voices amplified* ''Lost Objects'' (2001) – 62 minutes. Music by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. Text by Deborah Artman. – Sop, 2 countertenors, small chor, DJ, baroque orch, e gtr, e bgtr, perc, synth ll instruments and voices amplified* ''The Carbon Copy Building'' (1999) – 72 minutes. Music by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. Text by

. – Cast: Ms, T, Bar, Bar/Ct, cl(bcl, cbcl, ssx)/perc/syn/egtr ll instruments and voices amplified

Arrangements

* ''Music for Airports'' (1998) – 48 minutes – cl, egtr, perc, pno, vc, db

Film

* ''New York Composers: Searching for a New Music'' (1997). Directed by Michael Blackwood. Produced by Michael Blackwood Productions, in association with Westdeutscher Rundfunk. New York, New York: Michael Blackwood Productions.

Selected recordings

*''Anthracite Fields'' by Julia Wolfe with the Choir of Trinity Choir Wall Street, directed by Julian Wachner, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars (2015) *''Steel Hammer'' by Julia Wolfe with

Trio Mediæval Trio Mediæval is a vocal trio established in 1997 in Oslo, mainly to sing medieval polyphonic works. Its members are Anna Maria Friman (from Sweden) and Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Torunn Østrem Ossum (from Norway). The trio's debut album, ''Word ...

and the Bang on a Can All-Stars (2014) *''Cruel Sister'' by Julia Wolfe with Ensemble Resonanz (2011) *''Dark Full Ride'' by Julia Wolfe (2009) *''Julia Wolfe: The String Quartets'' including artists

Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

Cassatt Quartet The Cassatt String Quartet was founded in 1985. Originally the first participants in Juilliard's Young Artists Quartet Program, the Quartet has gone on to win many teaching fellowships and awards and has toured internationally. Named after impressi ...

, and Lark Quartet (2003) *''Arsenal of Democracy'' by Julia Wolfe (2003) *''Lost Objects'' with artists Michael Gordon, David Lang, Deborah Artman, Roger Epple, Andrew Watts, Daniel Taylor, and

(2001)

References

External links

Julia Wolfe: Home
the composer's personal website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Julia 1958 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers Manhattan School of Music faculty University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Princeton University alumni Yale School of Music alumni New York University faculty Musicians from Philadelphia Pupils of Louis Andriessen American women in electronic music 21st-century American composers Pulitzer Prize for Music winners 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers MacArthur Fellows 21st-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers American women academics Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Fulbright alumni