March 14, 2025
Dr. Holly Dalrymple has been named as the new Associate Director of Choral Activities at the Butler School of Music, starting this fall. A third-generation Longhorn, she comes from a family with a strong tradition at the University of Texas at Austin—her grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles all attended U.T. She jokes, “Pretty much everyone in my family went to U.T.,” then paused and added, “except for my brother, who is an Aggie,” with the word "Aggie" coming out more as a forced whisper than an actual word. Beyond family ties, Holly has close friendships at Butler, and her family resides in the Austin area.
I caught up with Holly at 3:15 pm on the Friday before Spring Break, just after conducting two high school workshops. The energy in the schools, fueled by a lunar eclipse the night before and the impending break, seemed to have rubbed off on her. She was more energetic than seemed possible for a teacher on a Friday afternoon. But her tone shifted when she spoke about the person she is replacing—Dr. Suzanne Pence, who announced her retirement earlier this year. Holly studied under Suzanne and served as her Teaching Assistant, and over the years, they’ve become close friends. You could tell this wasn’t a case of a "new sheriff in town" looking to bulldoze everything their predecessor did; in fact, it was quite the opposite. She seemed almost speechless that she was taking over for someone she respected so much and whom had such a profound impact on her. Holly told me, “When you go into academia, you go where the job is, often places where you have no emotional connection with. The fact that I get to come here and work here is just...” and she paused, unable to find a word that could express how honored she felt to be taking this position.
Dr. Suzanne Pence
While Holly deeply respects the program's legacy, she is eager to bring her vision for the future, with a strong emphasis on recruitment. She’s excited to be in Texas because of its outstanding K-12 music programs, noting, “We have one of the best music education programs in the public schools in the nation.” She highlighted the state’s distinct approach to music education, with required benchmarks and concepts at each grade level. Holly thrives in this environment of accountability and has cultivated a vast network of public school music educators. Now, she is eager to integrate that network into the Butler School of Music, through both outreach (visiting schools) and in-reach (bringing schools to Butler).
Holly’s connection with Director of Choral Activities J.D. Burnett is another reason she’s excited about her new role. They studied together during their DMA program and even defended their dissertations on the same day. Their strong relationship has continued over the years, and Holly shared that working alongside J.D. was a major factor in her decision to apply to Butler.
For 9 years, Dr. Dalrymple served as the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY, before a brief stint at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. She loved Wyoming and explained how she would wake up early, go skiing on the mountain, come back, shower, and be in the classroom in time to teach a 1:00 PM class (yes, she really does have that much energy). While she loved Wyoming, she missed her family, friends, the high level of arts in Austin, and, ultimately, she missed home. Welcome home, Dr. Dalrymple—we are all excited to see the amazing things you will do at Butler.
Dr. Holly Dalrymple showing her love of the University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Holly Dalrymple holds a Doctoral degree in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas, a Master’s in Choral Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Texas State University. She spent 11 years at the University of Wyoming and Southwestern University, focusing on training future choral educators through courses in pedagogy, conducting, vocal pedagogy, and music literacy. She also mentors graduate students, leading seminars on topics like gender and women in music.
Dr. Dalrymple has conducted honor choirs across the U.S. and internationally, earning notable invitations such as a PBS feature with the Bel Canto Treble Choir at the University of Wyoming. She is passionate about elevating treble ensembles and promoting vocal techniques and literacy. Additionally, Dr. Dalrymple has led several civic ensembles, including Tapestry (Austin Treble Choir), the Denton Bach Society, and Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Austin. She currently conducts the Saengerrunde Damenchor in Austin and the Faith Lutheran Choir in Georgetown.