Since he moved to New York City in 2002, Neil Rolnick’s music has received increasingly wide recognition and numerous performances both in the US and abroad. A pioneer in the use of computers in performance since the late 1970s, Rolnick often includes unexpected and unusual combinations of media in his work. He has performed around the world, and his music appears on 14 CD’s.
Though much of Rolnick’s work has connects music and technology, and is therefore considered in the realm of “experimental” music, his music has always been highly melodic and accessible. Whether working with electronic sounds, improvisation, or multimedia, his music has been characterized by critics as “sophisticated,” “hummable and engaging,” and as having “good senses of showmanship and humor.”
In 2009 Rolnick completed Extended Family for string quartet, and is currently at work on MONO, a multi media performance piece. Innova Recordings released The Economic Engine in 2009, which received an enthusiastic review in the New York Times..
In 2008 Rolnick completed The Economic Engine for the Chinese Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Faith for pianist Bob Gluck with interactive computer. In 2007 he completed Hammer & Hair for violinist Todd Reynolds and pianist Kathleen Supové; Love Songs for the Albany Symphony; and The Bridge for the Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire. In 2006 Rolnick completed the iFiddle Concerto for the American Composers Orchestra, with soloist Todd Reynolds, which was premiered in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. In 2006 he also wrote Uptown Jump for the trio MAYA, and Segal’s Billboard for harpist Jacquiline Kerrod, and Innova Recordings released Digits, which received positive reviews in the New York Times and in Time Out New York.
Rolnick teaches at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, where he was founding director of the iEAR Studios.