Christopher Houlihan
concert organist
"Inspiring...one of our great organists!" (Jan Kennedy, Wapping Community Church, S Windsor CT, presenter)
"A musician to reckon with...flowing and vivacious, with plenty of drive and a finely honed sense of structure."
(Grace Notes, ALCM)
"When Christopher Houlihan plays, it is with authority, insight, and panache that belie his youth. His was a recital that delighted and excited our audience and local students, and impressed local musicians as mature, stylistically attuned, and beautifully presented"
(Dr. Jesse E. Hopkins, Bridgewater College, Bridgewater VA, presenter)
"Dubbed the hottest rising star of the current generation's organ performers." (Judy Evans, Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church, Cincinnati OH, presenter)
"It was fantastic, as also was the amazing attendance." (Chris Muller following recital in Springfield MA 2009)
"HARTFORD SYMPHONY'S SEASON OPENER A SMASHING SUCCESSÂ This was followed by Samuel Barber's Toccata Festiva for Organ and Orchestra, with Christopher Houlihan as organ soloist. Houlihan, studying at Trinity College in Hartford, is an intense player who unleashed an extraordinary technical arsenal during the course of the work, including a cadenza for pedalboard playing at lightning speed only with his feet. Houlihan showed that an organ soloist can have the charisma and energy of a major soloist....This opening celebration set a high bar for the Hartford Symphony this season. It featured an internationally renowned soloist and a promising local soloist with strong international potential. These are the imprints of an evening of sonic optimism."
(The Hartford Courant, September 2008)
"Clearly,Christopher Houlihan is a major talent whose star is destined to brightly shine over the horizon of the years ahead." (The American Organist, 2009)
"Houlihan plays with a gentle and well-controlled sense of romantic rubato that is so beautifully crafted that the listener finds himself lost in the sheer beauty...The challenge for any organist is to make all five [Vierne] movements, different in character yet with the same explosive and almost violent energy, come together as one continuous work that unfolds movement by movement. Christopher Houlihandoes this admirably...The listener soon forgets that he is listening to a 19-year-old American organist who has yet tofinish his undergraduate degree, and is swept away with the 
various moods and emotions that accompany this almost 40-minute exposition of the art of LouisVierne...What a wonderful finish to this recording with Houlihan literally dancing through this show stopper...you will no doubt become a 'Houli fan' after just a few minutes of listening to this recording." (The Diapason, January 2009)
"Solid passion in performing...Widor was very fiery and exciting...Duruflé quite deep, thoughtful and dramatic. It is clear he loves this music and performing it...an absolute joy. It is refreshing to meet a young performer who demonstrates the passion of music and its medium rather than just the passion of personality and being on stage." (K. Bryan Kirk, First Presbyterian Church, Glens Falls NY, presenter)
"One of the best recitals we've had. Christopher is awonderful talent. The audience responded enthusiastically.I can't say enough good things about him, and I think hisfuture is incredibly bright" (Jeffrey Seekins, First Presbyterian Church, Lockport NY, presenter)
"The second he walked onto the stage, everyone startedclapping and screaming...Houlihan is a phenomenal playerwho is absolutely intense and devoted to his art." (The Trinity Tripod, Hartford)