A native of Atlanta, GA, Daniel Holloway commenced his lifelong musical journey at the young age of five when he began studying the guitar with his father. In his youth, he was musically educated through means of demonstration and memorization, and did not learn to read music until his teenage years when he became involved in his middle school string orchestra program. After looking over the instruments offered in the string orchestra, the double bass drew his attention because of its similar tuning to the guitar. By age thirteen, he was achieving much success on both instruments. The final discovery of his “true musical voice” was not realized, however, until a year later when he heard world-renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, performing the Bach cello suites on PBS. It was at this very moment that he became captivated by the instrument’s beautiful and expressive sound and decided to fully commit his efforts into mastering this eloquent instrument.
Soon after his newly claimed vow to play the cello, he began lessons with Nan Maddox, a former cellist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Just two years after switching to the cello and studying privately, he auditioned and was accepted into the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, where he played music with the city’s most talented young musicians and received training from various members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. This experience enabled him to meet his second teacher and musical mentor Martha Gerschefski, the celebrated and highly respected cellist and pedagogue. In January 2003, he was invited by his high school orchestra director, Carol Doemel to play a concerto with the Lassiter High School Symphony Orchestra at the Georgia Music Educator’s Association festival in Savannah, Georgia. His progress during his high school years with Martha and ASYO inspired him to pursue music professionally, and upon graduating, he auditioned for several music schools around the country, eventually choosing Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music in Columbus, Georgia. There he was afforded the opportunity to study cello with professor Andre Gaskins, a former assistant to the famed Janos Starker. During his college studies in Columbus, Daniel enjoyed teaching private lessons as well as playing cello in the Columbus, LaGrange, Albany, and Macon Symphony Orchestras. He also attended the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, North Carolina for two summers. In May of 2007, he received his Bachelor’s degree in music performance from Columbus State University, graduating cum laude. After his undergraduate studies, he went on to pursue his Master’s degree from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas, TX where he studied cello under the world-renowned cellist, Andres Diaz. During his time in Dallas, he enjoyed freelancing in the area and teaching private cello lessons through the Plano Independent School District. Presently, Mr. Holloway resides in Canton, GA where he teaches cello and performs professionally in the Atlanta metro area and throughout Georgia. He has performed in the cello sections of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Macon Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, South Carolina Philharmonic, Savannah Philharmonic, and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Currently he performs with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra.