Biography

Pianist Danny Holt is one of a new generation of innovative young musicians ushering classical music into the 21st century. Called “phenomenal” by music critic Alan Rich (SoIveHeard.com), and hailed as one of the “local heroes” of the Los Angeles music scene (LAcitybeat.com), Holt brings his boundless energy and wit to unique interpretations of new music, 20th-century music, and obscure, unusual, and neglected repertoire. He is equally at home whether performing on the concert stage, in an intimate house concert, or in one of his elaborate multimedia performances where classical music meets rock concert aesthetics and a performance art sensibility.

Holt has performed nationwide in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall (New York), REDCAT (Los Angeles), MASS MoCA (North Adams, Mass.), Machineworks (Portland, Ore.), and Joe’s Pub (New York), and he has performed and given guest lectures at music schools and universities across the U.S. and abroad.

In 2005 Holt embarked on his first international solo concert tour, performing contemporary piano music in concert halls, galleries, clubs, churches, and living rooms across North America and Europe. The Daily Hampshire Gazette (Amherst, Mass.) called Holt’s performance “simply outstanding” and The Record (Waterloo, Ontario) called Holt “the classical music equivalent of an extreme sports athlete.” His CD of that program, Fast Jump (Innova Recordings, 2009) was produced by Mike Garson (pianist for David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.)  Fast Jump has been heard on radio stations from New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and places in-between. Gramophone called the album “a compelling showcase for Holt’s innate virtuosity and gregarious temperament” and WNYC’s John Schaefer selected the CD as one of the best new releases of June 2009.

His 2002 debut CD, Right Now, was called “eclectic and fun” (The Reminder, Springfield, Mass.), and “an offbeat take on the classics…cutting edge” (Daily Hampshire Gazette, Amherst, Mass.) Other past projects include the multimedia performance piece Eusebius (2003), which combined live piano performance with an original film based on Erik Satie’s Vexations, and Innovators, Mavericks, and “Bad Boys” (2006), a multimedia performance piece centered around early 20th century American composers, with original videos narrated by the late James Tenney.

A specialist in contemporary music, Holt has been a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Institute, the New England Conservatory Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, and the Weill Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall. In 2006 he performed music by Steve Reich and Terry Riley on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s acclaimed Minimalist Jukebox Festival in Walt Disney Concert Hall, concerts which were recorded and released on iTunes by Deutsche Grammophon. In addition to championing the works of emerging composers, Holt has worked with such composers as Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, Christian Wolff, James Tenney, Graham Fitkin, David Lang, Michael Gordon, Augusta Read Thomas, Jo Kondo, and Michael Finnissy, among others.

In 2001, Holt became a Yamaha Young Performing Artist, a distinction reserved for only ten musicians each year. In 1999 he won a prestigious award from the National Alliance for Excellence, which was presented to him by composer Philip Glass. He has also received awards and grants from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, and the National Federation for Advancement in the Arts.

Holt holds degrees from California Institute of the Arts, Hampshire College, Smith College, and Interlochen Arts Academy. He is also a percussionist, composer, teacher, and scholar. He resides in Los Angeles, where he serves on the faculty of the Herb Alpert School of Music at California Institute of the Arts.