Jonathan Bailey Holland has been named dean of the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, effective Sept. 1.
He currently heads the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music.
In a news release, Northwestern described Holland as an award-winning and prolific composer with more than 20 years of leadership experience in music education.
He succeeds Toni-Marie Montgomery, who will step down at the end of August following two decades as dean at the Bienen School.
“I look forward to joining the passionate and committed artists and scholars of the Bienen School of Music, Holland said in a statement. “Its dedicated and uniquely talented students and faculty, impressive facilities, broad range of performance opportunities and connection to the broader University make it a unique and exciting community to join at this moment in time.”
Prior to Carnegie Mellon, Holland rose from assistant professor to full professor of composition at Berklee College of Music before joining the faculty at Boston Conservatory and ultimately being appointed chair of composition, contemporary music and core studies at the merged Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
He previously served on the faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he helped establish the low-residency MFA program in music composition, one of the first of its kind.
Northwestern Provost Kathleen Hagerty called Holland “an acclaimed artist and dynamic leader who possesses the collaborative spirit and commitment to excellence that define the Bienen School of Music.”
Holland’s music has been commissioned and performed by orchestras and leading contemporary ensembles nationally and internationally.
He earned a Ph.D. in music from Harvard University and received a bachelor’s in music from the Curtis Institute of Music.
A native of Flint, Michigan, he serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and is an artistic advisor for New Music USA.