Dr David Holland

I am a published researcher, lecturer and award winning internationally performed composer with a particular interest in music technology and education. My research has focused on widening participation in new forms of music and the powerful role that creativity can play in this. In 2017, I was awarded a PhD in the field of Music, Technology and Innovation from De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, UK, which was supervised by Prof. Leigh Landy and Prof. Sarah Younie. From 2016 – 2020 I worked as a research assistant on the EU Interfaces Project, which was an international, €4 million EU Culture project with partners from 7 European countries concerned with bringing new music to new audiences through a number of educational and community initiatives. This was followed by post-doctoral research funded by the AHRC and conducted in partnership with the Leicester Schools Music Service, which focused on supporting teachers to deliver a unit on sound-based creativity in primary schools. At present, I am involved in research investigating MA Education students’ creative responses to engaging in soundwalks and how this contributes to their sense of wellbeing and community on the MA Education at the Institute of Education (IOE) (University College London). I am currently a lecturer at the IOE on both the MA Music Education and the MA Education. I have also taught modules on the Creative Music Technology BA at De Montfort University and the Music Technology BSc at Coventry University. Additionally, I have done freelance work designing units for schools with the Leicester Music Service. My work as an electroacoustic composer has received international recognition, most recently with an Honorary Mention at Music Nova (2020), as a finalist in the XIII° International composition competition Città di Udine (2020) and as a winner in RMN Classical’s call for Electroacoustic works (2020). My work has also been released by RMN Classical. Previously, I was awarded the Rolf Gehlhaar Award for Electronic Music Composition while at Coventry University and was a finalist in the 2014 Bangor Dylan Thomas Prize for Electroacoustic Composition at Bangor University. My work has also been broadcast on Czech (Vitava - Radiocustica) and Dutch (Concertzender) radio as well as being preformed at events internationally (such as the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (CIME) (Poland), Sound and Image (UK), SONIX #5 (Czech Republic), EMAS (UK), Ecos Urbanos festival (Mexico), Noisefloor Festival (UK). I am an experienced rock musician having played in a variety of bands that have performed at major festivals, released music internationally (currently in India on the Mr Babu label) and supported a diverse range of artists including Dr Feelgood, The Primitives, The Enid and KT Tunstall.

special interests

Listening, soundwalks, creativity, collaboration, inclusion, wellbeing, cross overs between subject areas in the arts curriculum

thesis title

Developing heightened listening: A creative tool for introducing primary school children to sound-based music (PhD Thesis)

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