An Inspired Chat with Rich Holly of North Raleigh, NC

We recently had the chance to connect with Rich Holly and have shared our conversation below.

Rich, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
What I love is that there doesn’t seem to be a normal! Each day is different from the others. I’m primarily involved in music production and performance, so one day might be engineering a recording session and some personal practice time on drum set or percussion, the next day might be mixing a recording and a rehearsal for an upcoming performance. I’m playing with four groups, each with their own music genre, so each set of personal practice sessions and subsequent rehearsals is different from the others. I serve on the board of a national music therapy organization, Music Therapy Retreats, and have periodic obligations with committee work and board meetings for that. In addition, my wife and I are traveling quite a bit, and seeing what the world has to offer is truly enlightening. Overall, I am really enjoying the variety of activities I get to be a part of.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Yes, thank you. My career has been spent in the arts, music primarily, but also as a university arts administrator and as a leader with several nonprofit arts organizations. I’m a percussionist first and foremost, and spent 43 years in higher education as a music professor and arts administrator. Throughout my career I made a vow to myself to always practice and perform, which I’m happy to say I did stick with and continue to this day. I’ve been able to perform with several well-known musicians and entertainers throughout the US and around the world, and I’m extremely thankful for those amazing opportunities.

Along the way I was invited to serve on nonprofit boards of directors, which helped me realize that my true passion is serving others. With my work now, I’m continuing to collaborate with a wide variety of artists and arts organizations, and am always interested in hearing from new connections about what exciting project I may be able to assist them with. One of my favorite sayings is “How can I help?”

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I’ll give that credit to Martin Dreiwitz, former music director of the Long Island Youth Orchestra and other New York City-area ensembles. Martin was the guest conductor of the Nassau County, NY all-county high school orchestra and, as a 9th-grader, I was lucky enough to have been chosen to be the timpanist of that orchestra. After the first rehearsal, Martin approached me and told me he wanted me to join the Long Island Youth Orchestra, which typically allowed no one younger than tenth grade, but he would make an exception for me. Of course, I said yes! Martin then started also booking me to play with ballet orchestras, opera orchestras, and recording sessions in New York City, all while I was still in high school. The support and encouragement he provided is what made me realize that music would be my life.

When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I don’t recall being sad, but I was scared many times because I had very poor digestive health as a child. I would get sent home from school 1-2 times a week for being sick. I ended up having an ulcer at age 9, which included a hospital stay which started on Christmas Day. My parents were encouraging and caring, and I learned to trust them and the doctors. In some regards, these digestive issues still plague me, but thankfully not as seriously as when I was young. Most importantly, I learned about trust, and how important it is. I believe I start every new relationship with trust, and that has served me very well.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
I’m so glad you asked this – yes! I strongly believe you have to be you at all times. I was a class clown when I was in public school, and I continue to use humor whenever possible. Sure, I’ve had some others look at me sternly when I cracked a joke in an important meeting, but I didn’t care – I knew that the majority of the participants would be happy for the comic relief. Enjoy life, enjoy the people you’re with, and don’t take yourself too seriously. You can take the work very seriously, but don’t do that to yourself.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Oh, I am definitely doing what I was born to do! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thanked my lucky stars that I’m a musician. When I retired from higher education it wasn’t a retirement in that I had no work to go to – I’m just as busy now as when I had a full-time job working for some other entity, but now it’s completely on my own terms. I’m making music and helping artists and arts organizations, and it’s all really meaningful and joyful!

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Image Credits
Trinity Nguyen
Becky Kirkland
Robert Davezac

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