Neil Rolnick, composer and professor of music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will embark on a new project—a piece for pianist Vicky Chow—with support from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University.

Rolnick previewed work on his most recent composition, MONO – an exploration of sensory perception that grew from his own experience with a sudden loss of hearing in his left ear—in December 2011 at the Gershwin Hotel in New York City and the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer. New York Times critic Allan Kozzinn described the piece as “a haunting work that juxtaposes the noise and ringing of tinnitus with vital, driven music that conveys his determination to overcome the challenge.”

Rolnick, the founding director of the iEAR (Integrated Electronic Arts at Rensselaer) Studios, is a pioneer in the use of computers in performance. Beginning in the late 1970s, Rolnick has often included unexpected and unusual combinations of materials and media in his music. He has performed around the world, and his music appears on 15 CDs.

Mary Simoni, dean of the School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences, congratulated Rolnick on award of the commission.

“A commission from the Fromm Foundation of Harvard University represents significant achievement in contemporary music,” Simoni said. “Rensselaer is privileged to have such an accomplished composer in our midst. We anxiously await the premiere of the commissioned work.”

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