Pianist Linda Holzer joined the faculty at UA Little Rock in 1995 after earning a Doctor of Music degree (DMus) from the College of Music at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where she held a University Fellowship. Dr. Holzer is originally from Chicago. She holds the BMus degree in piano performance from Northwestern University, and the MM degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. An active soloist and chamber musician known for innovative concert programming, she has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, New York Public Radio Station WNYC-FM, Noon Time Concerts at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in San Francisco, and abroad in Europe, Asia, and Australia. She is a founding member of the duo Mariposa, with Arkansas Symphony violinist Sandra McDonald.
Prior to her appointment at UA Little Rock, Dr. Holzer served as an artist-in-residence for four seasons, performing under the auspices of the North Carolina Visiting Artist Program. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Corinne Frada Pick Piano Award at Northwestern University, 1st Prize in the Farwell Music Competition of Chicago, an “Emerging Artist” grant from the Raleigh Arts Commission, a UA Little Rock Faculty Scholarship Award, and 2001 “College Teacher of the Year” from the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association. She is the author of articles published in American Music Teacher, Piano & Keyboard, Clavier, Piano Pedagogy Forum, and College Music Symposium. In April 2017, Dr. Holzer received the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences at UA Little Rock; in 2019 she was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award for Professional Service for the college.
Her research interests include injury-preventive piano technique; piano music of the 20th and 21st Centuries, esp. American composers and women composers; career guidance for music majors; and concert performance technology. She is an advocate for Arkansas composers Florence Price and William Grant Still. Listeners are invited to check out two programs on KUAR/KLRE:
A Celebration of American Music https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/celebration-american-music
Gathering the Pieces: the Florence Price Legacy https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/gathering-pieces-florence-price-legacy
At UA Little Rock, she teaches a variety of web-enhanced and online courses, including piano performance (MUPR), piano pedagogy (MUED), interdisciplinary courses on creativity (MUAP), music appreciation (MUHL 2305), aural skills, music fundamentals (MUTH), and careers in music (MUED), and a Donaghey Scholars honors arts appreciation (SCHL 3310). Her web site Healthy Keyboarding for Computer Users emphasizes injury prevention.
