John Holland is a composer, author, performer, and recording artist. He is Professor Emeritus in the Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.

John Holland’s work emphasizes the integration of science and art, incorporating structures and ideas that reference a variety of natural phenomena. He has taught a class for three decades that introduce artists to leading-edge ideas in science. In the early 1980's Holland co-founded Nature and Inquiry, an artists group that meets weekly to discuss ideas in art and science. The group has presented work at the MIT Media Lab, the Harvard Smithsonian Observatory, Habitat Institute, Copley Society of Art, and Axiom Gallery. (see www.artscience.org)

Holland's music has been performed most recently at The Yamaha Piano Salon in New York City, New England Conservatory, Pickman Hall at Longy School of Music, and the new Pozen Center in Boston. He has produced a number of recordings, and has published musical scores for most solo instruments (with and without electronic enhancement), chamber music, orchestra, concertos, opera. Each fall Holland produces a music program in Boston, New Music at the Pozen Center, that mixes contemporary and electronic music with innovative  performative features.

Published books include: The Nature of Music for the Performing Musician, Time, Sound Waves and Their Properties in the Surrounding Media, and Studies on the Human Ear.  'The Perception of Music' and 'The Chicken and the Egg: A Collection of Writings on Nature, Science, and Art' are in preparation.

Holland has composed a variety of performance texts designed to be read aloud, including Complete Short Texts for Speaking Voice, Strategies for Survival (with Complementary Music), and Facts of Life (with Complementary Music), each of which contains texts on subjects related to nature, science and art. Holland has produced the first comprehensive full color poster-size Acoustic Wave Spectrum. John Schaefer, host of New Sounds on WNYC Radio in New York has cited Holland’s Natural Phenomena as “one of the notable CD’s of 2005.”Richard Perry, music critic, writes “Mr. Holland’s computer-generated music has a compelling, insistent fascination…” Tia Kimberk says “John Holland’s music is often based on extra-musical ideas related to science and nature. Listening to the music informs us about ourselves and our larger context in the world.” In 1982 Holland was interviewed on National Public Radio for his recording of Music for a Small Planet in Three Parts.

The composer's scores and texts are published by American Sound Press. CD's of the composer's electronic music are available in music stores and through Electronic Music Foundation on the Internet. Musical scores, spoken texts, and books are available through Spectrum Music.

all content © 2000 John Holland