Berna-Dean Holland

Berna-Dean Holland’s debut CD “Fledgling” was released in April 2010. It has been enthusiastically received; attaining airplay on CBC Radio as well as CKUA in Calgary. The songs are rich and honest in a fusion of Canadiana / Folk / Roots and Bluegrass styles. Her calming and effortless voice compliments beautifully crafted melodies in which she expresses her deep love of nature and the complexity of the human condition. Her songs are genuine and her voice is clear, strong and full of raw emotion. The cover art on the CD is a pastel portrait Berna-Dean created of a fledgling robin and indeed sparked the title “Fledgling” for her debut album.

Berna-Dean’s journey to becoming a songwriter has been unusual and was undoubtedly influenced by a transient upbringing, mostly due to her father's employment in the Oil Patch. Born in Red Deer Alberta and raised in several small prairie towns and rural areas across western Canada as well as overseas in the United Kingdom, Berna-Dean found stability through immersing herself in self driven creativity. This included drawing, poetry, singing and eventually teaching herself to play guitar, which soon became her instrument for song writing.

Until recently, Berna-Dean had only performed a few times at open mics and community events. After attaining a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Lethbridge, Berna-Dean worked as a Natural History Interpreter in the Alberta Badlands and Calgary Zoo and in these positions sometimes used music to teach people about wildlife and conservation. After this she worked as a Zookeeper at the Calgary Zoo, and then as a Research Assistant for a study of the Critically Endangered Vancouver Island Marmot. With heavy work schedules in both positions there was little time available for music pursuit and performance. After completing the marmot research project in 2006 Berna-Dean was unemployed and soon found a lot more time for making music. Currently Berna-Dean's main focus is music, but she has remained engaged in the field of Wildlife Conservation through her volunteer involvement with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. Often described as a Songwriter's Songwriter, this songbird has been living, learning and writing along the way and is now freely flying out of the nest and on to the performance stage.