Loris Holland is a Guyanese born
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...
and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
, residing in America. He is also known as Time Shadow.
Biography
Holland grew up in the
British Guyana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
, in a family which forbade any music other than
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s and
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, due to the deaths of his maternal grandfather and uncle on separate occasions, whilst playing
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
at a
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
.
His mother, a piano teacher, would instruct him on various classical pieces, which he would then practice on the piano until he fell asleep.
Eventually, when he was thirteen years old, he began to play the keyboard in secret, until his parents found out when he was fourteen.
Years later, his parents gave up the ban on popular music, and Holland moved to London, attending the
Royal School of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
and then eventually pursued a scholarship in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he attended the
Aaron Copland School of Music
The Aaron Copland School of Music is one of the oldest departments at Queens College, founded when the College opened in 1937.
The department's curriculum was originally established by Edwin Stringham, and a later emphasis on the analytical sys ...
.
During the mid-seventies, Holland began receiving calls from jazz legends including
Steve Jordan and the
Brecker Brothers
The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael Brecker, Michael and Randy Brecker, Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI (musical instrument), EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers ...
, to do sessions with them. However, he did not have confidence in his own abilities, and so declined each time.
His musical career began when he successfully auditioned as
musical director
A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...
at the
Brooklyn Pilgrim Church. He then called in his colleagues from college to work with him, and eventually started his own gospel/fusion band.
As Holland's career blossomed, he received offers from numerous gospel artists, but he declined, in order to stay with the church, until he realized he would need more than the $350 per month salary he received.
He then co-produced a Christmas album by
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
, with Carey and
Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...
, and also set up a writing and production deal with
Zomba Music
The Zomba Group of Companies (sometimes referred to as Zomba Music Group or just Zomba Group) was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was place ...
and
Jive Records
Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...
.
He later worked at
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
's battery studio's, together with artists including
Jonathan Butler
Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music.
Biography
Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Ap ...
and
Ruby Turner
Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress.
In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Americ ...
, but quit work there after a dissatisfaction with cuts made on the album he had worked on with Turner, and after Zomba Music called his writing partners to join them.
and his singers teamed up with Mariah Carey, (although they would still call on him to play music for them, and ask to use it in their tracks
) he resumed work at the Brooklyn Pilgrim Church.
Holland was eventually asked by
Tony Prendatt
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
to help
Fugees
Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...
member
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
, who was working on her own
hip-hop record, but was unhappy with her players. When he played for her, she had him redo everything on the track, in favor of his work.
She asked him to be her musical director, but he declined though he stayed and helped her band along.
Awards and nominations
He has been nominated for five
Daytime Emmy
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...
awards from 2001 to 2005, all of which were for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series, for his work on ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
''. He won the award in 2002, 2003, and 2005. His first nomination was shared with Terry Walker,
A.J. Gundell,
Jerry Pilato,
Dominic Messinger
Dominic Messinger is an American television composer. He began his work in soap opera music on '' General Hospital'', and has since composed for reality series and documentaries including '' Intervention'', '' Brace for Impact'', and for Nickelode ...
,
Gary Kuo,
Mike Renzi
Michael Ernest Renzi (April 28, 1941 – September 29, 2021) was an American composer, music director, pianist, and jazz musician. Renzi graduated from the Boston Conservatory in 1973 and from Berklee College of Music in 1974. He was a musical ...
,
John Wineglass
John Christopher Wineglass (born 1973) is an American television composer.
Biography
Wineglass was born in Washington, D.C., in 1973. He attended Langdon Elementary School. He played in the DC Youth orchestra in 1984, and ten years later he re ...
,
Brian Comotto
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...
,
Robbie Kondor
Robbie Kondor is an American composer, session musician, and arranger. He has worked as a composer on '' The Significant Other'', ''Ball In The House'', ''Sally Jessy Raphael'', ''Happiness'' (1998), ''The Suburbans'' (1999), '' Forever Fabulous ...
, and Ron Goodman. His first win was shared with the above, plus
Peter Fish.
Credits
* ''
Merry Christmas
The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
(1994)
* ''
Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
(1994)
* ''
Everyone Says I Love You
''Everyone Says I Love You'' is a 1996 American musical film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Allen, Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, Natasha Lyonne and Natalie Portman. Set in New York ...
'' (1996)
* ''
A Day in Black and White'' (1999)
* ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
''
* ''
Rude Buay'' (2008)
* ''
The Hunt'' (2008)
References
External links
Loris Holland's official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Loris
Year of birth missing (living people)
Guyanese emigrants to the United States
Living people
American male composers
21st-century American composers
American male songwriters
Emmy Award winners
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
21st-century American male musicians