Brandon J. Rolle is a composer and conductor fusing technology with tradition to investigate points of connection between old and new, structure and chaos, and perception and deception. Informed by sonology, psychoacoustics, and computer programming, his integrative approach to composition seeks to broaden the creative practice as an interdisciplinary craft--an approach he has  presented at universities across the United States and Europe, including Folkwang Universität der Künste, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,  California Polytechnic State University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.  His recent works, such as für Klarenz, Sovrimpressione, and the audio-visual collaboration Hyperway, blend electronic and algorithmic techniques with careful acoustic writing to create  rarefied, intimate sound worlds. Rolle's catalogue of compositions have been heard at concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Italy, and includes chamber, electro-acoustic, experimental,  and orchestral works, as well as music for dance, film, and videogames.
 

Outside of composition, Rolle is a conductor who champions living composers--particularly those working in electro-acoustic, intermedia, and otherwise experimental media. He has worked with chamber ensembles, including Now Hear Ensemble, the Ensemble for Contemporary Music and the Chamber Orchestra at University of California, Santa Barbara, and ad hoc ensembles for concerts at ArtShare LA, REDCAT. Rolle's Los Angeles conducting debut was in 2017 at the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater as director of a concert in collaboration with algorithmic music pioneer Clarence Barlow, featuring premieres  of recent multimedia works by Barlow. In 2019, Rolle directed and conducted the inaugural Doctoral Composers Reading Session with the orchestra at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His other directing work  includes leading sectionals, workshops, and coaching ensembles  in music ranging from classical to  jazz.

 

Beyond his own work composing and conducting, Rolle is a dedicated educator with experience teaching college composition, theory, and musicianship, as well as original  courses in computer music and videogame music. He has developed original software for both pedagogical and creative applications, including tools for microtonal and psychoacoustic sound manipulation, programs for synchronizing intermedia and tele-performance, and experiments in real-time score generation. His creative and interdisciplinary work has led to collaborations with notable composers including Pauline Oliveros, Clarence Barlow, Mari Kimura, Joel Feigin, and Christopher Richmond among others. 
 

Rolle lives in Los Angeles, California, and holds bachelor degrees in music and political science from California Polytechnic State University, and a Masters Degree in Music Composition from Mills College, where he studied with composers Pauline Oliveros, Chris Brown, and Roscoe Mitchell. Rolle completed his PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara under Clarence Barlow, Curtis Roads, and Joel Feigin, where he served as the Composition Associate for the Department of Music in 2017-2018, and for the College of Creative Studies in 2018-2019. Rolle founded the Impulse New Music Festival along with his colleague Vlad Vizireanu in 2019, for which he serves as the Artistic Director and the Head of Composition.

 

Rolle's compositions are published by Precious Noise Music, and his music writing and reviews are published by NewClassic LA.