About Rolf-Carlos Klausener

Rolf-Carlos Klausener is a Latino-Canadian musician, graphic designer, creative director, and advocate of arts and culture. He is best known as the singer-songwriter/producer of The Acorn.

With The Acorn, Klausener has explored themes of place, identity, kinship, and the immigrant experience. The project has headlined domestic and international tours, as well as supported major artists such as Bon Iver, Elbow, and Fleet Foxes. Its albums have been twice nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, and had songs featured in film and television including the major motion picture Crazy, Stupid, Love, Showtime’s Shameless, HBO’s Californication, and many more.

As the founding artistic director of Arboretum (2012 - 2018) he has produced numerous independent music festivals and multi-disciplinary events, showcasing hundreds of acclaimed artists to the Ottawa region. In 2014 he was nominated for the Ottawa Arts Council’s Mid-Career Artist Award.

In 2016, he was welcomed to the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition’s founding board of directors. OMIC is a not-for-profit organization focussed on industry development. Their work was integral to the Ottawa Music Strategy (2018 - 2020), a city council-approved strategy for investing in, and developing the local music industry. 

He has participated in arts juries for the City of Ottawa and Ontario Arts Council, as well as been the recipient of numerous grants from all levels of government and private funds such as FACTOR.

As a designer and digital marketer, he has led or contributed to numerous initiatives at respected organizations such as the National Arts Centre, Bruyère Continuing Care, David Suzuki Foundation, Arts & Crafts, Paper Bag Records, Digital Arts Resource Centre, and CBC.