In Performance…….

“STAR POWER FROM A YOUNG ORGANIST: Astonishing performance…He enticed listeners by engaging them with a friendly rapport in verbal program notes, then winning them over with performances that ranged from charming to overwhelming….The Vierne exuded warmth, charm and shimmering brilliance….In Bach Houlihan created a seamless tapestry among its variations that few organists can match. Structure and form were remarkably cogent, its dramatic finale magnificently charted. Despite his humble demeanor, Houlihan proved a captivating showman at the keyboard….Franck brought the program to a mesmerizing close and the audience to its feet…star power is possible, even in the world of organ performance.” (The Birmingham News AL, 2011)

“Vibrant youthful star power” (The American Organist, New York, 2011 AGO regional convention  review Iowa)

“Twenty-two-year-old Christopher Houlihan did not disappoint his large audience. His imaginative registrations, exciting interpretations, and fine verbal notes kept the audience’s attention throughout. Bach’s Passacaglia will never be the same for this listener.” (The American Organist, New York, 2011 AGO convention review, Oklahoma)

“HARTFORD SYMPHONY’S SEASON OPENER A SMASHING SUCCESS: Houlihan is an intense player who unleashed an extraordinary technical arsenal… Houlihan showed that an organ soloist can have the charisma and energy of a major soloist…a promising soloist with strong international potential.” (The Hartford Courant)

 “HOULIHAN GLORIOUSLY PASSIONATE ON ORGAN WITH PSO: Houlihan performed with charisma, milking every note for its full worth…The performance left the audience both enthralled and eager for more…in an endearing act of humility and charm, the 22 year-old virtuoso actually asked permission to perform another [encore as demanded by the audience]. Permission granted, he closed with a lighthearted toccata from Vierne.” (The Morning Call, Allentown PA)

“ORGANIST’S STAR RISES HIGH, QUICKLY: Organ phenom who has already been called one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American organists….rising star of the organ world who already has his own fan club.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)

“Enormous talent…an amazing musician and performer….the audience should be prepared to be mesmerized.” (The Republican, Springfield MA)

“ Bach would have been proud!.…Houlihan proved himself to be a star performer, engaging the audience and playing brilliantly. This is one performer that I want to hear again and again.” (James R. Barry, Classical Voice of New England)

“Houlihan has rekindled excitement about the age-old instrument among people of all ages….[He] has awed audiences here and abroad as one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American concert organists. I predict he will be one of the major performers of the 21st century.” (The Catholic Observer, Springfield MA)

 “Houli is truly a star and took the organ to levels of amazement. Christopher Houlihan’s brilliance on the instrument surpassed all expectations of the packed house at the inaugural organ performance at the Sondheim Artist Series.” (Rustin Lippincott, Ex. Dir., Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts, Fairfield, Iowa)

 “Some of the best [organists] in the country…but the one to watch will be 23-year-old Christopher Houlihan from New York.” (The Des Moines Register, at AGO convention)

Click here for more reviews.



In rehearsal with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.


“Clearly, Christopher Houlihan is a major talent whose star is destined to brightly shine over the horizon of the years ahead”
(The American Organist, New York)

Christopher Houlihan
organist

“Christopher Houlihan is a rising star in the organ world” (Choir & Organ, London)

“Both passion and great technical facility….clearly a musician of the first order....He’s clearly a performer to watch….Stay tuned, Christopher Houlihan seems to be going places.” (Audiophile Audition, web magazine, Lee Passarella, 2011)

“Charismatic young organist Christopher Houlihan is a rising American star”
(The Morning Call, Allentown PA 2010)

“Young organist rocks the house.”
(WHO-TV NBC, Des Moines, at AGO convention)

Artist Bio…….
The young American musician Christopher Houlihan is widely acknowledged as one of the brightest stars in the new  generation of American organists, and was booked to perform from coast to coast during his debut season under professional representation.

During his senior year of college he made his orchestral debut (with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, sharing the soloist spotlight with violinist Joshua Bell) and recorded his second commercial CD (his debut CD having been recorded after his sophomore year).

He spent his junior year studying in France where he earned the “Prix de Perfectionnement” (equivalent to a university artist diploma in the US) from the French National Regional Conservatory in Versailles, performed widely, and served as assistant musician at the American Cathedral in Paris where he had the honor of performing for the then President and First Lady of the United States, Mr. And Mrs. George W. Bush.

He is a graduate with honors from Trinity College in Connecticut where he studied with John Rose, his organ teacher from the age of twelve. Late in his freshman year a group of friends formed the “Houli Fans,” a club aimed mostly at gathering fellow students to attend Christopher’s organ recitals. When he performed with the Hartford Symphony during his senior year they chartered buses to take throngs of students to the orchestra hall where they rained down loud cheers from the balcony.

Christopher did his graduate degree work at The Juilliard School in New York where he studied with the Grammy Award winning organist Paul Jacobs. In 2011 he was named Artist-in-Residence at St. Ignatius of Antioch (Episcopal), New York.

During concert season 2010-2011 he was a featured performer at two regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, made another European tour, and inaugurated the newly installed pipe organ at the Sondheim Performing Arts Center in Iowa.

During the summer of 2012 Christopher Houlihan will perform the six organ symphonies of Louis Vierne in marathon sessions in six major north American cities—New York, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles and Montreal. For more details visit: www.vierne2012.com