Biography

 

Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland (b. 1974)  has been heralded as "one to watch" by Newsweek magazine, and has been referred to as "a craftsman with an ear for effective orchestration, a fine theatrical sense and real skill when it comes to formal layout."

 

Background & Education

Originally from Flint, MI, Holland began studying composition while a student at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he received a school-wide award for his very first composition.  Upon graduation from Interlochen, he continued his composition studies with Ned Rorem at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree.  He went on to receive a Ph.D. in Music from Harvard University, where his primary teachers were Bernard Rands and Mario Davidovsky.  He has also studied with Andrew Imbrie, Yehudi Wyner, Robert Saxton and Robert Sirota.  Currently, he is Associate Professor of Composition at the Berklee College of Music.

 

 

Commissions & Performances

Holland's works have been performed and commissioned by numerous performing organizations.  Highlights include:

 

 

á          Primary Movements, a ballet commissioned by the Dallas Symphony and the Dallas Black Dance Theater

á          Halcyon Sun, commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, in celebration of the opening of the Freedom Center National Underground Railroad Museum

á          Motor City Dance Mix, commissioned by the Detroit Symphony, in celebration of the opening of the Max M. Fischer Music Center

á          Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, for their educational concert series

á          Signals, commissioned by the National Symphony in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

á          Summer Frenzy, commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra for their Viennese Sommerfest

á          House of Dreams, commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in memory of James Rouse

á          Visit to St. Elizabeth's, commissioned by the Wellesley College Choir

á          Symphony (of Light), commissioned by the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia

á          Festival Music, commissioned by the Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestras

á          The Great Race, commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Youth Orchestra to showcase two orchestras of varying levels performing at the same time

 

These works and others have also been performed by the Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago Civic, Cleveland, Richmond and San Antonio Symphony Orchestras, the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, Alea III, Auros Group for New Music, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (currently Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia), Orchestra 2001, Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, and soloists Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Demarre McGill and others. Holland has worked with such conductors as Robert Spano, Roger Norrington, Neeme Jarvi, Paavo Jarvi, Michael Morgan, Leslie Dunner and Davis Zinman, among others.

 

Educational Work

As an advocate for music education, Holland has written several works for educational concerts, and has given lectures and presentations at over 50 schools and other public institutions.  His composition It's About Time was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, in consortium with the Cleveland Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, specifically for their youth concerts.  This work introduces the audience to the idea of musical meter. His most recent education work, Four Sections, was commissioned by South Bend Symphony Orchestra.  It features each member of the different sections of the orchestra.  He has also written educational works for the Baltimore Symphony and WAMSO - the Volunteer Association of the Minnesota Orchestra.

 

Residencies

Holland will be composer-in-residence with the Boston-based Radius Ensemble for the 2008-2009 season.  He was the Ritz Chamber Players Composer-in-Residence for the 2006-2007 season.  The RCP premiered and perform several of Holland's compositions on various concerts in Jacksonville, Miami, Baltimore, etc.  In March of 2003, Holland served as composer-in-residence with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, as part of the Music Alive program sponsored by Meet the Composer and the American Symphony Orchestra League.  During this residency, he gave presentations at several schools, libraries and churches in the greater South Bend area.  The orchestra also premiered two of Holland's compositions, including Actions Rendered: Interpretations of Pollock for Three Orchestras.  Previous to this residency, he served as composer-in-residence with the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota (currently Vocal Essence) as part of their WITNESS program, and with the Detroit Symphony, through the Unisys African-American Composer Residency and National Symposium program, which included the premiere of his composition Fanfares and Flourishes on an Ostinato.

 

Awards & Honors

Holland was a two time winner of the Indianapolis Symphony's Marian K. Glick Young Composer's Showcase, which led to performances of his compositions Martha's Waltz and Summer Frenzy.  He has received the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was a finalist for an Artist Grant from the Massachusetts Arts Council.  He has received several Composer Assistance Grants from the American Music Center, as well as other awards from ASCAP, the Presser Foundation, Boston Conservatory, Austin Peay State University, and Harvard University.  His composition Visit to St. Elizabeth's was awarded first prize in the treble division of the Roger Wagner Contemporary Choral Composition Competition.

 

Recent & Upcoming Projects

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Black Dance Theater recently performed Primary Movements, which both groups premiered in June, 2006. During the 2007-2008 concert season, the Ritz Chamber Players, soprano Sarah Long, the Firebird Ensemble, Primary Duo, and the Dallas Symphony will all offer repeat performances of works originally written for them as well.  For 2008-2009, Quatrains will be premiered by the UT Chattanooga Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble; Trinity United Presbyterian Church (Flint, MI) will premiere Watch for the New Thing for chorus, handbells and organ; Holland will compose a new work for the Radius Ensemble, with whom he will serve as composer-in-residence, and his To what purpose, April will be performed on the New Gallery Concert Series.

 

Home ¥ Works ¥ Reviews ¥ Performances ¥ Contact