[1] Born at Illogan, Cornwall, UK, Holman attended the Royal Academy of Music from 1948 to 1952 and studied with Sir William McKie, Eric Thiman and York Bowen.
He was an instructor in the Royal Army Educational Corps with the British Army of the Rhine from 1952 to 1954, master at Westminster Abbey Choir School from 1954 to 1956, assistant organist at St Paul's Cathedral from 1956 to 1958, then an organist at Croydon Parish Church from 1958 to 1965.
He directed the Concord Singers of Toronto from 1973 to 1975 and the Canadian Children's Opera Company (then Chorus) from 1975 to 1985.
Holman was a consultant for The Hymn Book published in 1971 by the Anglican and United churches of Canada.
Holman won two National Choral Awards from the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors: Holman was a Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002.