Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland. “That was five years ago, and it could have been written now,” he says of his “Synchrony.” Robert Torres photography
Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland hasn’t written a new oratorio, any operas, or started a new symphony this summer. Like most composers, the pandemic has silenced performances of his music. But also like most composers, he usually has his sights set on long-term projects anyway.
“I haven’t done anything in response to the things going on this summer,” Holland says. “With the pandemic, the shock of how drastically our lives were changed, and the opportunities that went away—there was a pause. And I had spent so much time recently writing large ensemble music.”
Holland, a Flint, Michigan native who now lives in Medford, serves as chair of composition and contemporary music at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Many of his local performances have happened at BoCo, and with other area groups like Radius Ensemble and New Gallery Concert Series. The sweep of his collaborations nationwide is breathtaking: multiple compositions with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as well as commissions from orchestras in Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Buffalo, Dallas, Los Angeles and Detroit.
Holland’s relationship with the Cincinnati Symphony has a long history, including a stint as the orchestra’s composer-in-residence. “It actually started with the Detroit Symphony, in 1991, when Neeme Järvi was music director. I won a competition there, and I ended up with two more works for that orchestra.
“Then in 2003 his brother Paavo Järvi commissioned a piece in Cincinnati for the opening of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center,” he says, referring to “Halcyon Sun.” “I wrote another work for Paavo before he left. Then Louis Langrée become music director there, and that led to more large pieces.” The most recent of those was 2018’s “Ode,” a prelude to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Holland’s teaching at BoCo has been done remotely since March, and although many upcoming performances are delayed, he’s been engaged with smaller projects.
“I am fortunate in that regard,” he says. “I’ve been working my day job at Boston Conservatory, and I’ve been able to do some other summer programs. But mostly staying home, keeping things as locked down as possible.”
The pandemic isn’t the only upheaval roiling the nation, and Holland’s perspective on the unrest following the death of George Floyd creates some context on the need for change, and the energy of the moment.
“Previously I had written pieces about Freddie Gray, and Sarah Bland, and Eric Garner,” he says, referring to his “Synchrony,” which Radius Ensemble has recorded. Add “Synchrony” to Holland’s other works like “Equality”—settings of poems by Maya Angelou—and “Dream Elegy,” interspersed with lyrics from the victims of incidents that led to the Black Lives Matter movement.
“That was five years ago, and it could have been written now,” he says of “Synchrony.” “All of this is a continuation of events that have been going on a long time. It’s not a new shocking development that I have to respond to right now. People have been fighting the fight for a long time.”
Holland also takes a measured approach to the future of live performances, and to possible changes in the structure of the classical music industry.
“Music is a particularly social activity,” he says. “It’s such a necessary component of who we are, and it won’t vanish.
“If we think of the fine arts in general,” he says, “many are art forms that originated elsewhere. They were brought to this country in an attempt to share in their original form, and preserve the way of making in. Art in more recent times is rooted in where we are now.
“I don’t have a problem appreciating older work, but we have to factor in where we are now, and how racism is crucial in how it functions.
“I don’t feel that classical music is racist,” he says. “The institutions were designed to perpetuate things. Racism is a societal issue. It has to be addressed for every facet of society, not just classical music organizations. It’s an easy way out to demand a certain percentage of this, or of that.
“But I don’t want to create a new imbalance to address an old imbalance,” he says. “To me, the answer is looking at everybody as an individual. Too often it becomes us vs. them, on lots of issues.”
It’s a focus on the individual that might lead to lasting changes.
“The majority of people have origins from somewhere else,” he says. “If everyone has that perspective, maybe they will be drawn to different art forms, and to what each individual voice has to share. I’m sure that Beethoven and Mozart would want us to appreciate their music in new ways.”
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Opera News and Leonore Overture. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.