Born and raised in North Texas, Holden comes from a musical family background that deepened as he grew. Ultimately, that led to an interest in composition (particularly for media) before graduating high school and going off to college.

A move to Chicago for a contemporary style of music education marks a major point in the young composer’s métier. Upon arriving in the city, his growing network of clients and collaborators alike allowed him to establish his own studio, focused on emotionally-driven, sonic storytelling.

Holden finished his undergraduate degree in composition at Columbia College Chicago in May of 2025 under the instruction of Grammy-nominated composer Ilya Levinson.

Following that, he began his studies at Columbia’s highly prestigious MFA Music Composition for the Screen Program in August of 2025 under the direction of Kubilay Uner and the instruction of Emmy-winning composer Kazimir Boyle. Uner’s program was just recently ranked #1 in the world for film scoring for the third time in four years. In his very limited free time, Holden also assists eight-time BMI-award-winning composer Lee Sanders at his studio in Chicago. All the while, Holden continues to work on external projects for film and recording artists alike.