After Berklee and The Boston Conservatory begun discussing plans to merge last year, it quickly became clear that synergies between the two institutions had been building for many years. Students, faculty, and alumni have often collaborated, and several faculty members can say that they have worked for both Berklee and the Conservatory.

One such example is Jonathan Bailey Holland, who is currently a professor of composition at both institutions. Holland studied composition with Ned Rorem at the Curtis Institute of Music and later received a Ph.D. from Harvard University. His works have been commissioned and performed by the Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Memphis, Minnesota, National, Philadelphia, San Antonio, St. Louis, and South Bend symphony orchestras, as well as several other ensembles. He has received honors from the Fromm Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Music Center, ASCAP, the Presser Foundation, and more. He has served as composer-in-residence for several major orchestras and ensembles. He is also a founding faculty member in the low-residency MFA in Music Composition program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Recent highlights include the premiere of Equality for narrator and orchestra for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, using the poetry of Maya Angelou. Listen below to this week's featured podcast selection, Dark Flowers, a two-movement piece written by Holland for the CD, Four Prayers, featuring Christopher Chaffee on alto and bass flutes, and Josh Nemith on piano.

Learn about the Berklee-Boston Conservatory merger:

https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-boston-conservatory