Editing Julia Wolfe

{{Short description|American composer (born 1958)}}
{{about|the American composer|the British mathematician|Julia Wolf|the British composer|Julia Woolf}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Julia Wolfe
| image              = Young_Julia_Wolfe_with_composer_John_Cage,_David_Lang,_and_Michael_Gordon.jpg
| caption            = with composers [[John Cage]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], and [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]] in 1982
| birth_name         = <!-- Use only if different from name in header -->
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1958|12|18}}
| birth_place        = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date         = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth) -->
| nationality        = American
| alma_mater         = {{Unbulleted list|[[University of Michigan]]|[[Yale University]]|[[Princeton University]]}}
| occupation         = Composer, Professor of Music
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Michael Gordon (composer)]]|1984}}
| children           = 2
| website            = {{URL|juliawolfemusic.com}}
}}

'''Julia Wolfe''' (born December 18, 1958)<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/julia-wolfe|title = Julia Wolfe :: Foundation for Contemporary Arts|website = www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org|access-date = 2016-03-26}}</ref> is an American composer and professor of music at [[New York University]]. According to [[Wall Street Journal|''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".<ref>{{cite web|title=Julia Wolfe|url=http://cantaloupemusic.com/artists/julia-wolfe|website=Cantaloupe Music|date=19 May 2014 |access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> Her work ''[[Anthracite Fields]]'', an oratorio for chorus and instruments, was awarded the 2015 [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Pulitzer Prize|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2015-Music|website=The Pulitzer Prize|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=See the 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winners and Finalists |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 20, 2015 |url=http://time.com/3828741/2015-pulitzer-prize-winners/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421062631/http://time.com/3828741/2015-pulitzer-prize-winners/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 21, 2015 |access-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Huizenga |first=Tom |title=Julia Wolfe Wins Music Pulitzer For 'Anthracite Fields' |work=Deceptive Cadence |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=April 20, 2015 |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2015/04/20/401010330/julia-wolfe-wins-music-pulitzer-for-anthracite-fields |access-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Wolfe's 'Anthracite Fields' Wins Pulitzer for Music |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=April 20, 2015 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/wolfes-anthracite-fields-wins-pulitzer-music-30453814 |access-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Vankin |first=Deborah |title=Julia Wolfe's 'Anthracite Fields' wins 2015 Pulitzer Prize in music |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 20, 2015 |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-julia-wolfe-anthracite-fields-2015-pulitzer-prize-music-20150420-story.html |access-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref> She has also received the [[Alpert Awards in the Arts|Herb Alpert Award]] (2015) and was named a [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur Fellow]] (2016).

==Life==
Born in [[Philadelphia]], 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 [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in music and theater as a member of [[Phi Beta Kappa]] 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 (composer)|Michael Gordon]] and [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], both of whom had recently attended the [[Yale School of Music]] and who encouraged her to apply. She went to Yale in 1984 and studied primarily with [[Martin Bresnick]], and she married Michael Gordon the same year. After receiving her [[Master of Music|M.M.]] in 1986, Wolfe, Gordon, and Lang founded the new music collective [[Bang on a Can]] in 1987.<ref name="NewYorker0916">{{cite journal|last1=Robin|first1=William|title=A MACARTHUR FOR THE COMPOSER JULIA WOLFE|journal=New Yorker|date=22 September 2016|url=http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-macarthur-for-the-composer-julia-wolfe|access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref> Bang on a Can is now an organization with a concert series and tours, and a summer festival in the [[Berkshires]] for emerging composers and performers.<ref name="NewYorker0916" /> Wolfe, Gordon, and Lang founded Red Poppy Music in 1993 as a printed music publishing company. The three founded the record label [[Cantaloupe Music]] in 2001.

Wolfe received a Fulbright Scholarship to travel to Amsterdam in 1992. In 2012, Wolfe received a PhD in composition from [[Princeton University]]. She has been a professor of music composition at [[New York University]] in the [[Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development|Steinhardt School]] since 2009, prior to which she was an adjunct professor at the [[Manhattan School of Music]] 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.<ref name="NewYorker0916" /> In 2018, she was a recipient of an honorary degree from [[Drew University]] in New Jersey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.drew.edu/commencement/past-commencement-speakers-honorary-degree-recipients/|title=Drew University|website=Drew University|access-date=Feb 7, 2019}}</ref> Wolfe held the 2021–22 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at [[Carnegie Hall]].<ref name="Carnegie Hall">{{cite web | title=The Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair | website=Carnegie Hall | url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/Events/Highlights/Debs-Composers-Chair | access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref>

Wolfe and Gordon are married and have two children. They live in lower Manhattan.<ref name=NewYorker0916 />

==Music==
Wolfe has written a major body of work for strings, from quartets to full orchestra. Her quartets, as described by ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine "combine the violent forward drive of rock music with an aura of minimalist serenity [using] the four instruments as a big guitar, whipping psychedelic states of mind into frenzied and ecstatic climaxes."<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Platt|first1=Russell|title=String Theory|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/03/string-theory-2|access-date=18 August 2014|magazine=The New Yorker|date=3 March 2003}}</ref> Wolfe's ''[[Cruel Sister (Wolfe)|Cruel Sister]]'' for string orchestra, inspired by a traditional English ballad of a love rivalry between sisters, was commissioned by the [[Munich Chamber Orchestra]], received its US premiere at the [[Spoleto Festival USA]], and was released (along with her other string orchestra piece, ''Fuel'') on Cantaloupe Music.<ref>{{cite news|title=Julia Wolfe: String Quartets|url=http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-8807/|access-date=19 August 2014|work=Classics Today}}</ref> Written shortly after September 11, 2001, her string quartet concerto ''[[My Beautiful Scream]]'', written for [[Kronos Quartet]] and the [[Orchestre National de France]] (premiered in the US at the [[Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music]] under the direction of [[Marin Alsop]]), was inspired by the idea of a slow motion scream.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=Music of the Spheres and the Pain of Earthly Matters|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/arts/music/24kron.html?pagewanted=print|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=24 April 2007}}</ref> ''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 [[Johannes Vermeer|Vermeer]] painting "[[A Girl Asleep]]"—which when x-rayed reveals a hidden figure—received its orchestral premiere with the [[San Francisco Symphony]]. In ''Window of Vulnerability'', written for the [[American Composers Orchestra]] and conducted by [[Dennis Russell Davies]], Wolfe creates a massive sonic universe of dense textures and fragile windows.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Holland|first1=Bernard|title=Review/Music; A Common Language Of Layered Loudness|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/11/news/review-music-a-common-language-of-layered-loudness.html|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=11 March 1992}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Beggs|first1=Jo|title=Richard Alston Dance Company – The Lowry, Salford|url=http://www.thepublicreviews.com/richard-alston-dance-company-the-lowry-salford/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820094624/http://www.thepublicreviews.com/richard-alston-dance-company-the-lowry-salford/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 20, 2014|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The Public Reviews|date=19 March 2013}}</ref> The raucous ''My Lips From Speaking'' for six pianos was inspired by the opening riff of the [[Aretha Franklin]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Strohm|first1=Adam|title=Dark Full Ride: Music in Multiples|url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5377|access-date=19 August 2014|work=Dusted Reviews|date=12 November 2009}}</ref>

Wolfe drew on oral histories, interviews, geography, local rhymes, and coal advertisements for her Pulitzer Prize-winning piece ''[[Anthracite Fields]]'', an oratorio about the coal mining community of her native [[Pennsylvania]] which premiered in Philadelphia and was performed at the [[New York Philharmonic]] Biennial in the spring of 2014.<ref>{{cite web |last=Oteri |first=Frank J. |title=Julia Wolfe Wins 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music |work=[[NewMusicBox]] |date=April 20, 2015 |url=http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/2015-pulitzer-prize-in-music/ |access-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Swed |first=Mark |title=NY Phil Biennial laudable, yet in need of curatorial vision |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-ny-phil-biennial-notebook-20140605-column.html |access-date=August 19, 2014 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 5, 2014}}</ref> In 2015–16, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, with first the [[Los Angeles Master Chorale]] 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]] and her [[SITI Company]] at the University of Illinois, UCLA, Virginia Tech, OZ Arts Nashville, and BAM in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Steel Hammer|website=SITI Company|url=http://siti.org/content/production/steel-hammer|access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>

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]]. The piece premiered in 2012 with the [[BBC Concert Orchestra]], conducted by [[Keith Lockhart]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Clements|first1=Andrew|title=BBCCO/Lockhart – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/12/bbcco-lockhart-review|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The Guardian|date=12 October 2012}}</ref> and premiered in the Netherlands with the Codarts Ensemble and the United States with the [[Albany Symphony Orchestra]] in the 2014–15 season. ''[[Fire in my mouth]]'', was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered at [[David Geffen Hall]] on January 25, 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/arts/music/review-new-york-philharmonic-julia-wolfe.html|title=Review: With Protest and Fire, an Oratorio Mourns a Tragedy|last=Tommasini|first=Anthony|date=2019-01-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-02-14|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The piece was based on extensive research into the [[Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire|Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire]]. Her most recent piece, unEarth, draws heavily from scientific data surrounding climate change. It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered at [[David Geffen Hall]] on June 1, 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walls |first=Seth Colter |date=2023-06-02 |title=Review: Julia Wolfe's 'unEarth' Is Crowded Out by Multimedia |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/arts/music/review-julia-wolfe-unearth-new-york-philharmonic.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Music for film and theatre===
Wolfe's work with film includes ''Fuel'' for the Hamburg-based [[Ensemble Resonanz]] and filmmaker [[Bill Morrison (director)|Bill Morrison]], and ''Impatience'' and ''Combat de Boxe'' for the [[Asko/Schönberg]] Ensemble and 1920s film experimentalist [[Charles Dekeukeleire]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=Post-Minimalism and Folk Ballads Fuel a Composer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/arts/music/02julia.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=1 February 2011}}</ref>

Wolfe has collaborated with theater artist [[Anna Deavere Smith]], architects [[Diller Scofidio + Renfro]], filmmaker [[Bill Morrison (director)|Bill Morrison]], Ridge Theater, director [[François Girard]], Jim Findlay, and choreographer [[Susan Marshall (choreographer)|Susan Marshall]], among others. Her music has been heard at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]], the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, Settembre Musica (Italy), [[Théâtre de la Ville]] (Paris), [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]], and [[Carnegie Hall]], and has been recorded on [[Cantaloupe Music]], [[Teldec]], Point/Universal, [[Sony Classical Records]], and Argo/Decca.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ziporyn|first1=Evan|title=Julia Wolfe|url=http://unitedphoenixrecords.com/Home/Composers/Julia-Wolfe.html|website=United Phoenix Records|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> Wolfe received a 2000 [[Foundation for Contemporary Arts]] Grants to Artists Award.

Her music for theatre includes the score for [[Anna Deavere Smith]]'s ''House Arrest'', and she won an [[Obie Award]] for her score to Ridge Theater's ''Jennie Richie''. She has composed a series of collaborative multimedia works with composers [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]] and [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], including ''Lost Objects'' ([[Concerto Köln]], directed by [[François Girard]], libretto by Deborah Artman),<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=MUSIC THEATER REVIEW; Socks to Souls: Finding Meaning in What Goes Missing|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E4DA1E3EF931A35751C1A9629C8B63|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=2 December 2004}}</ref> ''Shelter'' ([[musikFabrik]], Ridge Theater, libretto by Deborah Artman),<ref>{{cite news|last1=Meyer|first1=Robinson|title=Album Preview: Gordon/Lang/Wolfe's 'Shelter'|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/03/album-preview-gordon-lang-wolfes-shelter/274188/|access-date=19 August 2014|work=The Atlantic|date=20 March 2013}}</ref> and ''The Carbon Copy Building'' (with comic-book artist [[Ben Katchor]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Gordon, Lang, Wolfe, Katchor: The Carbon Copy Building|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/gordon-lang-wolfe-katchor-carbon-copy-building|website=Tiny Mix Tapes|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> Wolfe created the citywide spectacle ''Traveling Music'' with architects [[Diller Scofidio + Renfro]] in Bordeaux, France, filling the streets of the old city with 100 musicians walking and riding in pedi-cabs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Traveling Music|url=http://www.dsrny.com/#/projects/traveling-music|website=Diller Scofidio + Renfro|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref>

===Bang on a Can===
Wolfe is one of the founders and artistic directors of [[Bang on a Can]] (alongside fellow composers [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]] and [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]]), best known for its Marathon Concerts <ref name="bangmarathon">{{Cite web|url=https://bangonacan.org/bang_on_a_can_marathon|title=Bang on a Can Marathon – Bang on a Can|website=bangonacan.org|access-date=Feb 7, 2019}}</ref> 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 [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|World Financial Center]] [[Winter Garden Atrium]] 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]], premieres of [[Glenn Branca]]’s epic symphonies for massed electric guitars, and fully staged operas by [[Harry Partch]], 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'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2420&State_2874=2&WorkId_2874=28248|title=Michael Gordon; David Lang; Julia Wolfe: Red Poppy: The Carbon Copy Building|work=G. Schirmer Inc.|access-date=7 March 2011}}</ref> is a collaboration with comic book artist [[Ben Katchor]], received the 2000 [[Village Voice]] [[Obie Award]] 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 ([[Teldec]] New Line).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kozinn|first1=Allan|title=Socks to Souls: Finding Meaning in What Goes Missing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/arts/music/02lost.html?pagewanted=print&position=|access-date=20 August 2014|work=The New York Times|date=2 December 2004}}</ref>

A further project, ''Shelter'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?tabId=2420&State_2874=2&workId_2874=28250|title=Michael Gordon; David Lang; Julia Wolfe: Red Poppy: Shelter|work=G. Schirmer Inc.|access-date=7 March 2011}}</ref> is a multi-media work that was commissioned by the ensemble [[musikFabrik]] 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."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Artman|first1=Deborah|title=Libretti/Texts for Music|url=http://www.deborahartman.com/pages/libretti-text_for_music/|website=Deborah Artman|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> 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 (director)|Bill Morrison]] (film-maker) and Bob McGrath (director). In 2017 Chinese singer [[Gong Linna]] premiered ''Cloud River Mountain,'' written by the three Bang on a Can composers in addition to [[Robert Zollitsch (composer)|Lao Luo]]. They also premiere ''Road Trip,'' a celebration of Bang on a Can's 30-year journey, together at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] in October 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Road Trip|url=http://www.bam.org/music/2017/road-trip|website=BAM|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804012951/http://www.bam.org/music/2017/road-trip|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==List of works==

=== Orchestra ===
* ''Pretty'' (2023) – 20 minutes – Full orchestra
* ''[[Fountain of Youth (Wolfe)|Fountain of Youth]]'' (2019) – 9 minutes – 3(3).3.3.2(cbn)/4.3.3(btbn).1/timp.perc.pf/strings(ebgtr)
* ''Fuel'' (2007) – 21 minutes – String orchestra (min 65431)
* ''[[Cruel Sister (Wolfe)|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===
* ''unEarth'' (2023) — 90 minutes — chorus, female voice, & orchestra<ref>{{Cite web |title=Julia Wolfe's unEarth |url=http://nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2223/julia-wolfe-unearth |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=nyphil.org |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[Her Story (composition)|Her Story]]'' (2022) — 40 minutes — 10 female voices & orchestra
* ''[[Flower Power (Wolfe)|Flower Power]]'' (2020) — 35 minutes — amplified ensemble & orchestra
* ''[[Fire in my mouth]]'' (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/58529|title=Julia Wolfe – Fire in my mouth (2018) – Music Sales Classical|website=www.musicsalesclassical.com|access-date=Feb 7, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126222650/http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/58529|url-status=dead}}</ref> – 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)
* ''[[My Beautiful Scream]]'' (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)===
* ''[[Anthracite Fields]]'' (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 – 1111/1111/2perc.hp.pf.egtr.acc/11111
* ''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 (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], and Julia Wolfe. – cl, pno, perc, gtr, vc, db
* ''Cloud-River-Mountain'' (2015) – 20 minutes. Music by [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], Julia Wolfe, and [[Robert Zollitsch (composer)|Lao Luo]]. – soprano, cl, perc, gtr, piano, vc, db
* ''Water'' (2008) – 76 minutes. Music and text by [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], and Julia Wolfe. – SATB, 1.1.1.1(cbn)/1.1.1.0/2perc/pf/egtr/str(1.1.1.1.1) [all instruments and voices amplified]
* ''Shelter'' (2005) – 65 minutes. Music by [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|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 [all instruments and voices amplified]
* ''Lost Objects'' (2001) – 62 minutes. Music by [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], and Julia Wolfe. Text by Deborah Artman. – Sop, 2 countertenors, small chor, DJ, baroque orch, e gtr, e bgtr, perc, synth [all instruments and voices amplified]
* ''The Carbon Copy Building'' (1999) – 72 minutes. Music by [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], and Julia Wolfe. Text by [[Ben Katchor]]. – Cast: Ms, T, Bar, Bar/Ct, cl(bcl, cbcl, ssx)/perc/syn/egtr [all 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]] 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 (string quartet)|Ethel]], [[Cassatt Quartet]], and [[Lark Quartet (string quartet)|Lark Quartet]] (2003)
*''Arsenal of Democracy'' by Julia Wolfe (2003)
*''Lost Objects'' with artists [[Michael Gordon (composer)|Michael Gordon]], [[David Lang (composer)|David Lang]], Deborah Artman, Roger Epple, Andrew Watts, Daniel Taylor, and [[Concerto Köln]] (2001)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.juliawolfemusic.com/ Julia Wolfe: Home], the composer's personal website

{{PulitzerPrize Music Finalists 2001–2010}}
{{PulitzerPrize Music 2011–2020}}
{{Authority control}}

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