Justin Holand – Bio of American Classical Guitaris

Early Life

 

Justin Holand is an American as well as a Canadian classical guitarist and composer. He was born on October 22 1984, in Nova Scotia, Canada. There are no sources to prove that he has received formal training in music, but he taught himself guitar when he was just 9 years old. He started performing in public when he was only 10 years old, and by the time he turned 15, he had already composed a guitar concerto. Justin entered the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York at the age of 16 and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in classical guitar performance four years later.

 

Personal Life

 

Free-black Justin Holland was born on July 26, 1819. This means that he was the first or second eldest son of farmer Exum Holland. He was one of his three sons but also five daughters to be born before him! Free blacks lived near the family in a neighbourhood with whites with some money and people who didn't have slaves. People in Norfolk County used to grow tobacco as a main crop. Overproduction, low profits, and tobacco's soil depletion forced farmers to diversify their crops. The Hollands and their neighbours probably grew corn, cotton or Irish potatoes as cash crops on their small farms. After his parents died in 1833, Justin Holland moved from Virginia to Massachusetts, where he lived for the rest of his life.

 

During Justin's trip to Boston, he encountered Senor Mariano Perez as well as began to learn how to play the guitar from him. He was also tutored by Ned Kendall's Brass Member of the band Simon Knable, who taught him music theory and arranging. At this time, Holland also learned to play the flute with a man from Scotland named Pollock. In 1841, he went to Oberlin College in Ohio for two more years of music study. After a trip to Mexico, he came back to Ohio, got married, and moved to Cleveland. Holland's Method, written in 1876, is one of the best ways to learn how to play the guitar in the 19th century.

 

Career

 

Justin Holland (1819 - 1877), a classical guitarist, was born in London. He studied with the Spanish guitarist and composer Dionisio Aguado (1784 - 1849). In 1837, Holland became professor of guitar at the Royal Academy of Music in London, a position he held until his death. He concertized extensively throughout England, including performances with his pupil Kate Loder (1842 - 1926), who later became a well-known contralto. Holland published an instructional method for the guitar in 1845 and a solo collection of pieces entitled "Musical Gems" in 1848. He was also editor of the magazine "The Guitar", 1869-74. In 1873, Holland published "A Method of Acquiring Perfect Facility on the Guitar". Holland's compositions include duets for guitar, songs with guitar accompaniment, and works for solo guitar. His solos for left-hand piano ("The Spanish Carnival" in 1852). Holland died in 1877 at the age of 58.