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The American choral conductor and teacher, Brandon Hollihan, obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, Vocal Performance from the University of Notre Dame, studying with baritone John Riley-Schofield (2001-2005). He then went on to earn dual Masters degrees in Vocal Pedagogy and Choral Conducting from The Ohio State University (2006-2008). He cites Hilary Apfelstadt, Robert Ward and Robin Rice as several of his teachers who gave him the resources and inspiration to realize his goal of being a professional musician and educator.
Brandon Hollihan taught vocal music at Whetstone High School in Columbus City Schools (June 2013-May 2017), a school rich in musical traditions that has produced many outstanding talents in instrumental and vocal music. He worked concurrently as the choir director and organist at Northwest United Methodist Church (December 2009-July 2017), where he has given performances of Haydn’s The Creation (2017), George Frideric Handel's Messiah (2012) and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noel (2014). He also directed the Clintonville Community Choir (September 2013-August 2017), an exceptional community ensemble that meets Monday evenings at Whetstone and performs frequently in Clintonville and other Columbus neighborhoods. Other notable past performances include performances with South Bend Lyric Opera and Opera Columbus, pianist for a performance of Carmina Burana at Upper Arlington High School (2010), George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for solo piano at Northwest UMC (2011), and Gabriel Fauré's Requiem at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Hilliard (2009).
Brandon Hollihan earned his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in Choral Conducting at Notre Dame University, near South Bend, Indiana, studying under Dr. Carmen-Helena Tellez in the Sacred Music Program (2017-2020). As a student, he gave conducting recitals that have featured works such J.S. Bach's Reformation cantata, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80; Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and Arnold Schoenberg’s Friede auf Erden. He was also a conducting fellow with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra as well as a fellow with the Norfolk Choral Conducting and Chamber Music Workshop and a scholar with the Chorus America Conducting Academy.
Brandon Hollihan's dissertation research included a lecture recital featuring BWV 4 Christ lag in Todesbanden and Steve Reich’s acclaimed chamber work Tehillim. The concert was a collaboration with fellow Notre Dame students, musicians throughout the South Bend region, and featured the Grammy-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion from Chicago. The performance produced further research needed for Brandon’s dissertation, entitled “Rehearsal and Performance Issues in Steve Reich’s Tehillim: Unlocking the Process,” and an article stemming from this research appears in a 2020 issue of The Choral Scholar & American Choral Review.
Brandon Hollihan recently served on the teaching faculty at Bethel University in Mishawaka (August 2020-June 2021), teaching music education methods, wind ensemble, and music technology, and at Indiana University-South Bend (January 2019-June 2021), teaching aural skills and rock history. Most recently, he began a new position as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Carson-Newman University in east Tennessee (since July 2021). In addition to teaching a Carson-Newman, he serves as director of music for First United Methodist Church Jefferson City (since August 2021). He currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee
Teaching Philosophy: Brandon Hollihan believes in the importance of utilizing the talents of all students, all of whom are diverse in nature and share different cultural experiences, and nurture each individual's gifts and provide them with experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. He is a strong believer of "maximizing" one's musical curriculum, and that the quality of output is far more important than the quantity. |
