Randall Woolf studied composition privately with David Del Tredici and Joseph Maneri, and at Harvard, where he earned a Ph.D. He is a member of the Common Sense Composers Collective. He is the Composer/Mentor for the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and grants from NYSCA, NYFA, Meet The Composer, the Cary Trust, and others.
He has created 3 pieces for video and live instruments with directors Mary Harron (director of “American Psycho”) and John C. Walsh, most recently “Gandharba’s Song”, commissioned by the Brooklyn Philharmonic for concertmaster Deborah Buck. He has written several theatrical chamber music works with author/director Valeria Vasilevski. In 1997 he composed a new ballet of “Where the Wild Things Are”, in collaboration with Maurice Sendak and Septime Webre. He has also written dance music for Lar Lubovitch and Heidi Latsky. He works frequently with John Cale, notably on his score to “American Psycho”. He re-created 4 songs of Nico for Cale’s tribute concert “On The Borderline”, sung by Peter Murphy, Lisa Gerrard, Sparklehorse, Stephin Merritt, Peaches, and Meshell Ndegeocello. He has arranged over 20 of Cale’s song for orchestra, including the entire Paris 1919 album, most recently performed with the Wordless Music Orchestra at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in January, 2013.
His works have been performed by Kathleen Supové, Jennifer Choi, Timothy Fain, Cornelius Dufallo, Mary Rowell, Todd Reynolds, Ethel, conductor and flutist Ransom Wilson, Present Music, Fulcrum Point, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Seattle Symphony, Sonic Generator, Bang On A Can/SPIT Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, NakedEye Ensemble, and others.