Rolf Gjelsten began playing cello in his native Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, with James Hunter and Janos Starker. At 21, he became the youngest member of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.

Rolf returned to North America to study with Zara Nelsova, which led to an intensive study with members of the La Salle, Hungarian, Vermeer, Cleveland and Emerson String Quartets.

As a member of the Laurentian Quartet for almost a decade he toured internationally, made five CD‘s with the group, and taught cello at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. He was also a member of the New York Piano Trio. Rolf furthered his studies in 1990 with the great Casals protégé, Bernard Greenhouse, at Rutgers University, where he received a Doctoral Degree in Cello. Rolf joined the New Zealand String Quartet in May 1994 and became a New Zealand citizen in 1997.