Jonathan Bailey Holland will join the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music as its new head beginning Aug. 1. Most recently, Holland served as chair of composition, contemporary music and core studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, a position he has held since 2016 in addition to serving as professor of composition.
His educational, academic and professional experience spans public and private institutions; world-class conservatory and university training; and urban music college and conservatory instruction — all of which have helped to shape his vision of the necessary elements to nurture artistic acumen and proficiency.
Career highlights include:
- An acclaimed composer, Holland has been commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, the American Guild of Organists and Arx Duo, and his work has been performed by many artists and ensembles.
- He served as the first ever composer-in-residence with the Cincinnati Symphony, which included curating a concert at the National Freedom Center Underground Railroad Museum, and leading a young composers competition.
Recent honors and awards include:
- A Brother Thomas Fellowship from The Boston Foundation
- An Artist Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council
- A Fromm Commission from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard
- A recipient of a just-announced 2022 Guggenheim Music Fellowship
- An artist-in-residence at Civitella Ranieri in Italy during summer 2023
“I look forward to continuing and expanding the opportunities available within and beyond the Carnegie Mellon School of Music,” Holland said. “The future of our field is evolving at an ever-increasing rate of speed, and today’s students need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to be agile and adaptable to the ways in which music is made and experienced, while remaining rooted in the foundations of the artform. Carnegie Mellon is uniquely equipped to achieve these goals, and I am excited to help lead the school into its next chapter.”
