Nora Douglas Holt

Gifted musician Nora Holt was responsible for writing the score of Western University's school song. Her father, an administrator at the school, wrote the words. From there Nora went on to earn both a BA in music and became the first African American woman to earn a master's degree in music in the United States. After graduating from the Chicago Musical College and pursuing a career in music, Holt composed more than 200 works of music and was associated with the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance and the co-founder of the National Association of Negro Musicians.

Nora (born Lena Douglas) was born in Kansas City to African Methodist Episcopal Church minister Calvin Douglas and his wife, Gracie Douglas. She loved music from an early age. She started piano lessons at the age of four and played the organ in her father’s church in Kansas City, Kansas. Lena passionately studied music composition, musicology, and music criticism at Western University and was voted class valedictorian. Given her love of music and natural talent, Holt went on to attend the Chicago Musical College. In 1918, she earned a master’s degree from there and made history as the first African American woman to earn a master’s in music composition in the United States, just one of the many groundbreaking achievements Holt went on to have.

Holt performed throughout the world and was a music critic and co-founder of the National Association of Negro Musicians and the magazine Music and Poetry. Lena Douglas changed her name to Nora Holt when she married her fourth husband. For a short time, she published her own magazine, called Music and Poetry. When George Holt died in 1921, Nora inherited his fortune and she moved to New York City, where she was an influential player in the Harlem Renaissance scene, hosting and attending soirees with the leading writers and thinkers of the era. 

After her time in New York as a socialite, Holt traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia. Before leaving the United States, she placed her nearly 200 works of orchestral and chamber music in storage. Unfortunately, these and her other possessions were stolen during her travels. Only two compositions, The Sandman and Negro Dances were preserved due to their publication in Music and Poetry, and many great treasures were lost.

Upon her return to the United States in 1938, Nora settled in Los Angeles where she taught music for several years in the public school system. It wasn't long before the Big Apple called her back and she then returned to New York where she became the first music critic for the Amsterdam News and later the New York Courier. In 1945 Holt became the first African American member of the Music Critics Circle of New York. She produced and directed “Concert Showcase,” a radio show on WLIB in New York in the 1950s and 1960s. Holt died on January 25, 1974.

Freymann, Jeffrey. Nora Holt: Free-Spirited Composer of the Harlem Renaissance, KUSC. July 13th 2020. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://www.kusc.org/culture/staff-blog/open-ears/nora-holt/.

Kansas Historical Society. Nora Douglas Holt, Kansapedia. January 3rd 2009. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/nora-douglas-holt/12090.