Holly Mulcahy

After hearing Scheherazade at an early age, Holly Mulcahy fell in love with the violin and knew it would be her future. She currently serves as concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She spends her summers at the celebrated Grand Teton Music Festival. Believing in music as a healing and coping source, Holly founded Arts Capacity, a charitable 501(c)3 which focuses on bringing live chamber music, art, artists, and composers to prisons. Arts Capacity addresses many emotional and character-building issues people face as they prepare for release into society. Holly performs on a 1917 Giovanni Cavani violin, previously owned by the late renowned soloist Eugene Fodor, and a bespoke bow made by award winning master bow maker, Douglas Raguse.

Reach Out, Listen In

Tue, Aug 11, 2020Mon, Aug 10, 2020 by Holly Mulcahy

When Arts Capacity first started the interactive recital idea several years ago for prison concerts, it was to foster a more engaging and inclusive way of offering a musical performance. Going into the prisons, we knew that this recital environment would be one of the very few places prisoners could access and address their feelings. It also was a time for them to share thoughts and reactions to the music, since between each piece we would have a two-way conversation about the music and how it affected them. After each concert we … Continue Reading

“I didn’t know how much I would miss art and culture until it was gone.”

Wed, Mar 25, 2020Wed, Mar 25, 2020 by Holly Mulcahy

“I didn’t know how much I would miss art and culture until it was gone.” Those words were from a prisoner who attended a recital I gave back in 2017. He explained to me that at one time he was a regular symphony subscriber and he used to take art and music for granted until he ended up in prison. His words have been echoing in my head these past several days as quarantines take effect for us all, essentially imprisoning us in our homes. As we all watch businesses temporarily close, … Continue Reading

Celebrating The Past While Looking To The Future

Thu, Mar 5, 2020Thu, Mar 5, 2020 by Holly Mulcahy

It’s been 5 months since I began working as concertmaster with Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Getting to know the culture of the city and the people has been enlightening on several levels. Wichita is a unique city in that its history is something people are extremely proud of, and its future is something they are equally proud. From the early days of Wichita where Wyatt Earp and the Chisholm Trail helped build a mythology of the Wild West, to the 20th century where names like Stearman, Beechcraft, and Cessna helped create the “Air … Continue Reading

My Bio: The Fabulous Failures Edition

Wed, Mar 15, 2023Sun, Jan 19, 2020 by Holly Mulcahy

The other day I wondered aloud on Facebook about what a bio with only my failures would look like. So often when we look at our bios, we look amazing. And that’s really the point. However, what we don’t see is the blood, sweat, tears, and failures. Occasionally I have shared some of my own failures or misadventures in my career. So now I have taken the extra step and rewritten my bio with only my failures. Not all of them, but a good amount of failures I thought were the lowest … Continue Reading

Surprise! It’s Not The Customer Who Comes First, It’s The Employees.

Wed, Nov 20, 2019 by Holly Mulcahy

Very often I hear of people not feeling welcome in the orchestral world. Some people can feel too intimidated to even come to an orchestral concert, and those who do go to a concert can find their experience to be distancing or off-putting. Orchestras mostly know this but don’t really know how to effectively combat it. Some orchestras try to go the full opposite of what they perceive as offering an anti-elitism experience but miss the mark with sincerity in their singular goal: the pursuit of gaining butts in seats. What needs … Continue Reading