James Rolfe

James Rolfe (born on July 20, 1961 in Ottawa, Canada) is a Canadian composer of many genres of music.He studied composition with John Beckwith at the University of Toronto. Rolfe lives in Toronto with his wife Juliet Palmer, who is also a composer.

Operas

Although James Rolfe's many chamber, vocal, orchestral, and piano works are widely performed, he has become most noted for his operas. "Beatrice Chancy", an opera set in Nova Scotia during the 19th century, was produced in June 1998 in Toronto and later was televised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2000. The librettist was George Elliott Clarke. Rolfe has since composed the children’s opera "Elijah’s Kite" (libretto by Camyar Chai), which explores bullying among children, and was co-produced by Tapestry New Opera Works and the Manhattan School of Music in New York City in 2006; "Rosa" (libretto by Camyar Chai), produced by Tapestry in Toronto in 2004; "Swoon" (libretto by Anna Chatterton), produced by the Canadian Opera Company in 2006; and "Aeneas and Dido" (libretto by André Alexis), produced by Toronto Masque Theatre in 2007 as a companion to Henry Purcell’s "Dido and Aeneas".

Awards

* Guggenheim Fellowship (2000)
* K. M. Hunter Music Award (2003)
* Louis Applebaum Composers Award (2006)
* Jules Léger Prize (2007)

Other selected compositions

* "Idiot Sorrow" (1990)
* "Simon & Garfunkel & The Prophets of Rage" (1993)
* "Ears, Nose and Throat", (1994)
* "Revenge! Revenge!! Revenge!!!" (1995)
* "Squeeze" (1997)
* "Mechanical Danny" (2000)
* "Six Songs (text by Walt Whitman)" (2001)
* "Worry" (2001)
* "raW" (2003)
* "Flourish" (2005)

External links

* James Rolfe - [http://www.musiccentre.ca/apps/index.cfm?fuseaction=composer.FA_dsp_biography&authpeopleid=10852&by=R]
* Juliet Palmer - [http://www.music.princeton.edu/~juliet/]
* Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company - [http://www.queenofpuddingsmusictheatre.com]
* Jules Léger Prize - [http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/jules_leger]
* Tapestry New Opera Works - [http://www.tapestrynewopera.com]