Rate My Professor Michael Holland

Dr Michael Holland is a Senior Lecturer in Music Production in the School of Performing Arts at the University of Otago, where he obtained his BMus, BA(Hons), MA, and DMA degrees. His career bridges academia and industry practice, with over a decade of experience working on recordings for New Zealand and international companies in various roles. As an audio engineer, he has supported concert tours across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Europe, and the USA, including long-term service as live sound engineer for the seminal indie band The Chills on international tours. He continues to record, mix, produce for national artists, and collaborate with colleagues, musicians, and students on diverse projects.

Dr Holland convenes the Music Production and Postgraduate research programmes, coordinates papers such as MUSI 132 Music Production 1, MUSI 232 Music Production 2, MUSI 332 Music Production 3, MUSI 334 Music Production Projects, and MUSI 432 Studio Production, and teaches courses including MUSI 103 Popular Music, MUSI 407 Radical Works, PERF 205/305 The Creative Industries, and others. He supervises Master's and PhD students on topics like choir recording techniques, contemporary producer-composer roles, vocal performance, studio production for displaced performers, and technologically mediated collaboration. His research examines built environments' influence on creative practices, focusing on popular music production, performance resources, indie practices, music scenes' historicization, and techniques. Publications include the book chapter 'Left or right and independent musical practice in the "Deep South": Succeeding on the margins?' (2020), conference proceedings '#planfornoise' (2023, with F. Gilmour and H. Harlow), 'Too many speakers: Sound design and object-based mixing in live classical performance' (2023), and verbal presentation 'It's not real: Hearing, listening, performing and recording practices' (2024). His practice-based work applies sociology, science and technology studies, and cultural theory to New Zealand indie rock scenes. He contributes as a media expert on music technology, recording, live sound, industry changes, and music sociology.