Dulcie Holland attended the State Conservatorium of Music in New South Wales, graduating in 1933 with a Teacher's Diploma. Holland then studied in London, at the Royal College of Music, winning a Blumenthal Scholarship for three years' tuition, as well as the Cobbett Prize for Chamber Composition. However, the outbreak of the Second World War saw her returning to Australia the following year.
Back in Australia, Holland became a lecturer and freelance musician, working as a pianist, organist, accompanist and composer. Throughout the 1940s she composed a large body of original music to great acclaim. In the 1950s, she composed music for forty films about Australian life made by the Department of the Interior. During the 1970s, Holland began to write books on musical theory and training, passing on her considerable knowledge to generations of music students.
Holland received numerous awards for her work in the field of music, including the ABC Composers Prize in 1933, 1934 and 1953 and the Cobbett prize for chamber music in 1938. She was awarded the the AO in 1977 and an Honorary D.Litt. from Macquarie University in 1993.
In addition to her musical career, Holland also wrote several books for young children, using the name Dulcie Bellhouse.
