Celebrating M. Roger Holland, II: Pastoral Musician of the Year
The National Association of Pastoral Musicians named M. Roger Holland, II one of their pastoral musicians of the year for 2026. We are proud to celebrate this accomplishment and his work with GIA.
On Wednesday, July 22nd, on the campus of Catholic University in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Pastoral Musicians named Dr. M. Roger Holland, II as the Pastoral Musician of the Year for 2026. Joined by a room full of colleagues and friends, Dr. Holland graciously accepted this award, reminding us that we “do it because we love God. We love God’s people and we want to serve.”
Dr. Holland accepts his award for Pastoral Musician of the Year
Later that evening, a concert was offered in thanksgiving for this honor -Voice of My People: a Worship Experience with M. Roger Holland II. The concert brought together some of D.C.’s most storied music ministries, including The Choir of St. Augustine, the Washington, D.C. Archdiocesan Mass Choir, Our Lady of Peace Choir, Holy Comforter-St.Cyprian Catholic Church Choir, and Deitrick Goodwin & Friends. The concert also featured a historic reunion of the Roberts’ Revival, a choir founded by the late Leon C. Roberts.
Concert Highlights
Voice of My People
The centerpiece of the concert was a performance of Holland’s Mass setting, Voice of My People. In describing the setting, Holland writes:
This Mass setting is unique in that what unifies the various movements is not a melodic motif, but the understanding that Black people are not monolithic in their understanding of self or cultural expression. This setting explores the various ways in which musical genres within the African diaspora articulate the cultural expressions of Blackness. It is not a complete expression of that Blackness, but it goes beyond a singular expression
More GIA collections from M. Roger Holland II
About M. Roger Holland II
M. Roger Holland, II is a Teaching Associate Professor in Music and Religion and Director of The Spirituals Project at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he received the Master of Divinity degree, Roger also served as Artist-in-Residence and director of the Union Gospel Choir for over 13 years. In 2015 Union awarded him the Trailblazers Distinguished Alumni Award, the first given to a graduate whose ministry is music, for his contributions to the legacy of African American music. He received a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, also in New York, and completed his undergraduate work at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey where he majored in Music Education with a concentration in piano and voice.
Roger toured nationally and internationally with The Boys Choir of Harlem, working with them as a conductor, pianist, instructor and arranger for several of their recordings. Roger served as Minister of Music for Our Lady of Charity Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, NY for 12 years and is Liturgical Music Consultant for the New York Archdiocese Office of Black Ministry, acting as Music Director for their special Masses at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Roger is the newly appointed editor of the In Spirit and Truth series published by GIA Publications, Inc., which reflects the aesthetic of Black Catholic worship. Commissioned works include The Dream and The Dreamer, The Tribulation Suite, and The Call. Original music collections published by GIA include “Building Up the Kingdom,” featuring the single “Worthy God,” and his recent collection, “Honey from the Rock, Vol. 1-4” He has played for the Broadway productions of Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple and the Tony award winning show, Memphis. In November 2016 Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York presented Roger with the Pierre Toussaint Medallion for service.