God, music help W. Newton man cope with ALS
By Jeff Oliver
VALLEY INDEPENDENT
Monday, December 10, 2007


MONONGAHELA - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis has zapped most of the physical abilities from Richard Holland's body.
However, the deadly disease has not stopped his love for music and his creative ways of expressing that passion.

Holland, 57, of West Newton, has enjoyed a music career that has spanned some 50 years.

His love affair with music began at the age of six when he first started playing the piano.




As an adult, he played in various bands and played keyboard in a band called Shaker in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Shaker was good enough to be the backup band for Peaches and Herb, and Holland served as Peaches and Herb's music director and keyboard player for three years until 1983.

His career as a musician has taken him all over the world and allowed him to enjoy experiences that most people don't get to enjoy.

He met his wife, Pam, while playing in a band. Pam is also a musician.

The couple lives in West Newton and are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Monongahela.

Richard Holland served as the church's choir director and organist from 1987-2005 until he was diagnosed with ALS.

ALS, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death.

When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

Holland continued to lead the church's choir as long as he could until the disease curtailed his duties.

However, he still attends church regularly and his wife is still the director of the junior choir.

"He is truly amazing," said Debbie Caldwell, the church's secretary. "He is alive only by the power of Jesus Christ."

Although Holland no longer leads the church's choir, that did not stop him from creating music.

He recently finished production on a two-disc CD collection called "O Lord, You're Our Refuge." The collection took two years to put together.

The recording is a collection of 33 songs sung by the church's adult and junior choirs. They are songs of faith and spirit.

"It is a great collection of spirit music," said Beth Backus, a church member.

"His ambition was to record and now he has put together a wonderful CD of songs sung by our choirs," Backus said.

The church is trying to share Holland's labor of love with the public. The set is currently being sold by the church as a fundraiser.

The cost of one set is $20. However, packages of two for $35 and three for $50 are also available.

Caldwell said anyone who wishes to purchase the set may do so by contacting her at the church (724) 258-8300.

All proceeds from the sale of the CDs go to the First Presbyterian Church.


Jeff Oliver can be reached at joliver@tribweb.com or 724-684-2666

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