Cornelius Borgolte, born in Wattenscheid in 1966, studied clarinet at the Folkwang-Universität der Künste in Essen and then worked as a permanent clarinettist at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1992 to 2004. Since 2004 he has devoted himself intensively to theatre music and has received commissions as composer or musical director of Bayerischen Staatschauspiel, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Schauspiel Frankfurt and Odyssee Theatre Los Angeles, among others. At his many stations, he works with various directors, such as Karin Henkel, Jana Vetten, Robert Gerloff, Rafael Sanchez and Anselm Weber. From 2014 to 2017 he held a professorship at the Thomas Bernhardt Institute of the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg.
In the opening play of the 40th Heidelberg Stückemarkt, "Pirsch" by Ivana Sokola, directed by Jana Vetten, Cornelius Borgolte is responsible for the music. In 2024, he designes the music for »Nora« in the Marguerre Saal, also staged by Jana Vetten.