An inductee into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame in 1998, Rolf is a versatile performer who has used his talents in many ways to entertain diverse audiences. People are charmed by his portrayals of historical figures such as Hans Christian Andersen, Edvard Grieg, and Henrik Ibsen.

Rolf first came to Norsk Høstfest in 1993 to present his one-man show Grieg, Edvard Grieg and to present “living program notes”* for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Grieg. Two years later he worked with founder/director of the festival Chester Reitan, CEO Pam Davy, and distinguished Minot educator Lowell Latimer to found Høstfest in the Schools, an outreach program to the schools and to the whole community.

Charismatic figure, writer, language teacher, translator**, vocal-repertoire coach, composer, character actor and singer, Rolf was knighted in 1998 by The Norwegian Crown for his role as an important tradition bearer and at the same time received the St. Olaf Medal of Honor. In 2000, while performing at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater in Washington, DC, he was honored with a special Sons of Norway Leif Eriksson Millenium Citation.

*Performers on that occasion were: Arve Tellefsen. Violinist; Lars Anders Tomter, Violist; Truls Mørk, Cellist; Ole Edvard Antonsen, Trumpet, & Pianists, Eva One real and Leif Ove Andsnes **His translations of the songs of Grieg are included in the “Collected Works of Edvard Grieg” published by C.F. Peters.