Tigerville, SC – Dr. Marianne Holland, dean of Graduate Music Education Studies at North Greenville University from Pickens, is this year’s recipient of a special award given by the South Carolina Music Educators Association Board of Directors for Outstanding Service to the Association. Holland is retiring after 50 years of dedicated service to SCMEA. Not only has she served on the board admirably, but has done much to improve the quality of music education in South Carolina.
The first person to graduate from the University of South Carolina with a Master of Music Education Degree in 1968, Holland then began her career as a teacher and choral director in Columbia in the school districts of Richland One at Hand Middle School and Dreher High School and in Richland Two at Spring Valley High School.
During her four decades of teaching in Columbia, Dr. Holland received numerous honors including: “Choral Director of the Year” (1963), “Outstanding Young Educator for the City of Columbia” (1968),“Teacher of the Year” in Richland One (1970), and “Teacher of the Year” in Richland Two (1977-1978). While at Spring Valley, the SV Fine Arts Department won the prestigious Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award (1987), the highest award given in the arts by the Governor, with special commendation to Holland in the arts in education category. That same year she earned her doctorate from USC.
She has served the Association as President of the South Carolina Music Educators Association (1969-1971), the South Carolina Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (1977-1979) and was one of the first non-collegiate teachers and first South Carolinian to be elected President of the Southern Division of the Music Educators National Conference (now NAfME). She is a member of the SCMEA Hall of Fame.