Julia Wolfe’s music is known for its intense physicality and striking originality, merging folk, classical, and rock influences into a powerful, contemporary sound. Her compositions push performers to their limits and captivate audiences with their bold, genre-defying innovations.

Wolfe’s 2023 premiere of Pretty with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, exemplifies her distinctive style. Commissioned by top ensembles like the Houston Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pretty blends the raw energy of fiddling with rock’s distortion, creating a dynamic celebration of diverse musical traditions.

In UnEarth (2023), Wolfe addresses climate change with a large-scale work for orchestra, men’s chorus, and children’s chorus. Premiered by the New York Philharmonic, this forty-minute piece features immersive spatial staging and projections, offering a poignant reflection on environmental issues. Her 2022 work Her Story is a semistaged composition for orchestra and women’s chamber choir. Commissioned by the Nashville Symphony and San Francisco Symphony, it honors the ongoing struggle for women’s rights in America through evocative tributes to historical figures and pivotal moments.

Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth (2019), a large-scale work for orchestra and women’s chorus, continued her exploration of the American worker, following Steel Hammer (2009) and Anthracite Fields (2015), the latter of which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for its profound portrayal of coal region history. Other recent works include Forbidden Love (2019), a string quartet performed by percussionists, and Flower Power (2020), a concerto for the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Wolfe’s string compositions, like Cruel Sister and Fuel, showcase her fusion of rock’s energy with minimalist aesthetics. 

A MacArthur Fellow in 2016, Wolfe has also received the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts in 2015 and was named Musical America’s Composer of the Year in 2019.