Biography

Rolf Kristensen is a guitarist and recording artist who divides his time between teaching, performing and composing. Kristensen has been employed as an associate professor at the University of Agder, situated in Kristiansand Norway, since 1993, an has been a major contributor to the development of the program for Jazz, Pop and Rock education at the University of Agder, This is now the main education program of its kind in Norway.
 
As a guitarist, RK has been involved in nearly 100 CD/LP recordings for artists in various genres. Sessions for radio, television and motion pictures, has also been an important part of his professional career. His guitar work is featured in the soundtrack for the TV movie The Mermaid Chair by Steven Schachter, starring Kim Bassinger (2006).
 
As a performing musician RK has been touring internationally for nearly 20 years.

He has been a permanent member of the ensemble Secret Garden since 1995, taking part in extensive international touring, including concerts in venues like the Sydney Opera House, the Town Hall (New York), People’s Congress Hall (Beijing), and the Expo Performance Center (Shanghai). As well as participations in concert productions for PBS, BBC and CNN.

Touring with Secret Garden has also included performances with symphony orchestras like: The Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra, the Irish National Radio Orchestra (RTE), the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Hanchou Symphony Orchestra and Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

(Secret Garden is known for collaboration with artists like Josh Groban and Barbra Streisand, and has sold more than 5 million records worldwide.)