Head of Carnegie Mellon's music school leaving for job at Northwestern

Jonathan Bailey Holland, the head of Carnegie Mellon University’s school of music for less than a year, is leaving to accept the music deanship at Northwestern University.

He begins his new job Sept. 1.

Holland’s appointment to the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music was announced on Northwestern’s website. Officials pointed to his two decades in music leadership and called him an award-winning and prolific composer.

“I look forward to joining the passionate and committed artists and scholars of the Bienen School of Music. The school has maintained a highly respected position of prominence in the field for many years,” Holland said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Holland did not return a message sent Tuesday seeking additional comment.

In May 2022, Carnegie Mellon announced his appointment and said his start date would be Aug. 1 of last year.

Before his appointment at CMU, he was chair of composition, contemporary music and core studies at Boston Conservatory at Berkelee and a professor of composition.

Officials with Carnegie Mellon’s College of Fine Arts issued a statement announcing the departure.

“He is proud of the work he accomplished in his year at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and has offered wishes for the school’s continued success. Dean Mary Ellen Poole of the CMU College of Fine Arts has begun a search to replace Dr. Holland,” the university said.

It was not immediately clear if an acting or interim head has been named. Details about a search for a successor also were not available.

Music is one of the five disciplines represented by Carnegie Mellon’s College of Fine Arts. Music instruction toward a degree there dates to 1912, according to the school of music website.