To celebrate his retirement after 40 years as director of music at First Methodist Church, Dan Holland will lead a concert of his favorite anthems on Sunday, March 22, at 6 p.m. in the church’s fellowship hall, with a reception to follow.
Holland began his career at Clinton’s Methodist church on March 31, 1986.
“To celebrate my 40 years, they asked me to do a concert at my favorite anthems. which is how this all came about,” Holland recalled. “I have recruited 45 friends and neighbors, and people from across the county, and some actually from Pender and Onslow, as well.”
Together with organist and pianist Marquita Someliana-Lauer, Holland selected 16 favorite songs from his time as a music director.
Though he’s been with First Methodist for 40 years, Holland’s time in Sampson County stretches back all the way to the beginning. Born and raised in Sampson County, he graduated from Clinton High School in 1964.
Holland said he first discovered his love of church music as a child, growing up at Rowan Baptist Church in Clinton.
“Miller Johnson was pastor, and his wife, Miss Katie, called me one day,” he recalled. “She knew of my love for Sunday school songs as a child. When my voice changed at about 14, she said, ‘Come in here, I will teach you to sing bass in our choir.’ So, she showed me what the notes were, and what pitch to sing, and matched pitches on the piano. And I guess that’s where the bug bit.”
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in vocal performance from Campbell University, he came back home to Clinton and served First Baptist Church for 18 months, also teaching for a time at Midway High School. From there, he entered into the Methodist church, first serving Saint Luke United Methodist Church in Goldsboro as director of music and education. Throughout the ’70s, he served churches in Marion and Greenville, before returning to Clinton and beginning his 40-year tenure as director of music at First Methodist Church. He also worked with the Health Department as an inspector, before retiring 14 years ago to focus on music full time.
“I met my wife in the choir,” he shared. “Her name is Ruth. We have two daughters, Hannah Ruth and Elizabeth.”
Of course, finding his wife at First Methodist is probably his greatest memory from his career there, but Holland also takes great pride in having taken the church’s choir to Europe on three different occasions, in 1993, 1995 and 1998.
“We went to Vienna, Austria for their advent scene, which is a festival of advent,” he explained. “They guarantee you four concerts on four days while you’re there. And when we went in ‘93, they wanted to go back and add to extend the trip from four days to eight days. So in ‘95, we did it again. And then traveled to Innsbruck and Salzburg, and on up to Munich, Germany, before returning home.”
In ‘98, the choir traveled to England to perform in various cathedrals. “In August, the cathedrals gave their choirs off, so it’s a great place to perform all over England. The cathedrals don’t have music for the month of August, unless they allow outside choirs to come perform, and we’ve done quite a few concerts there.”
Holland also fondly recalled the church obtaining its pipe organ in 2008, after 104 families in four states raised the money. “And they exceeded it by $20,000, so we added chimes to the order,” he said. “In ‘88, we got this grand piano. In ‘92, we got one just like it for the choir room down the hall. And then, two years ago, we got another grand piano, which we put in the fellowship hall, so we’re very blessed to have three concert grands to perform on.”
Though he will retire and collect his pension, Holland’s affiliation with the church will not end there. “I will no longer be Dan Holland, director of music. I will be Dan Holland, director of music emeritus,” he stated. “So, I will still substitute as needed as far as the big choir goes. I’ll probably still do brass, and some of the bells.”
Someliana-Lauer and her husband, Cameron, will be assuming the director of music duties. “I’m just thrilled to death that we can pass the torch,” Holland said. “Especially in an age when choirs are disbanding. I saw on YouTube the other day, that choirs were disbanding at the rate of 14 a day. It breaks my heart.”
As such, Holland said he’s very proud of the group that has gathered to perform on March 22. And when it came to selecting the songs for the concert, he said, “What they jokingly told everybody in this sanctuary of the last few Sundays is that if we did all of my favorites, we’d be here for three days. So I’ve narrowed it down to 16 of my favorites. I’ve got many other favorites, but these are some that I think will celebrate this choir to the max.”
John Lowe, one of the members of the choir, said he joined the church because of Dan Holland. “When we moved here 30 years ago,” he explained, “my wife needed somewhere to practice the piano. Dan said she could practice here, and then we started coming here and have been here ever since.”
For Mary Jo Carr and her daughters, Elizabeth Andrews and Hannah Baxter, being part of Holland’s celebratory choir was never in question.
“I’ve known Mr. Dan my whole life,” Baxter said. “I remember when my daughter was born, Mr. Dan said she looked like me, and that’s because he knew me when I was her age. I’m so glad to sing in a choir to honor Mr. Dan.”
Her sister agreed. “I’ve known Mr. Dan my whole life; I knew him when I was a toddler,” she said.
Mom Mary Jo Carr said when the family moved back to Clinton from Raleigh when the girls were young, she remembers Holland riding up to their house on his bicycle with his infant daughter Hannah in the baby seat on back. From then on, they were fast friends and eager to take part in the choir at First Methodist under his direction. “All four of our children sing in the choir, as well as their mama and daddy,” she said, referring to herself and her husband. “A lot of our choir is a family affair.”
Though the choir is like a family, Holland welcomes the entire community to his celebratory concert next Sunday.
“It will be, for those who come to hear it, it’ll be what I call ear candy,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “They will be very, very blessed, I think.”