Christopher Houlihan

CHRISTOPHER HOULIHAN is widely recognized as one of the most exciting young concert organists of his generation. He has performed extensively across the United States since beginning his professional career and is an enthusiastic advocate for the organ as a vibrant concert instrument.

Following his debut recital at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, The Huffington Post (April 2012) reported: “Once again the pipe organ emerges as ‘The King of Instruments,’ and Christopher Houlihan is its youngest and most promising interpreter in the realm… with the last vibration of his encore, Vierne’s Toccata in B flat minor, the crowd was in a full roar of approval.”

Christopher has long held an affinity for Vierne’s music, and at age 19 recorded the Second Symphony on his debut CD for Towerhill Recordings.

During a year abroad in Paris, Christopher earned the Prix de Perfectionnement from the Conservatoire de Versailles, studying with the composer and organist Jean-Baptiste Robin. He also served as Assistant Musician at the American Cathedral where he had the honor of performing for the then President and First Lady of the United States, Mr. And Mrs. George W. Bush.

Returning to Paris last summer, he had his opportunity to perform on the organ of Notre-Dame, the very place where Vierne had died on June 2, 1937.

He received his master’s degree from The Juilliard School in 2011, having studied with the Grammy Award winning organist Paul Jacobs. He graduated with honors from Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut) in 2009 where he studied with John Rose, his primary organ teacher from the age of 12.

While still a student at Trinity, he made his orchestral debut with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (performing Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva) and recorded each of his two available commercial recordings.

To date he has performed in 28 of the United States as well as in three other countries. He has been a featured artist at two regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and is scheduled for a third next summer.

As The American Organist (May 2012) commented, “Christopher Houlihan has traversed the trajectory of ‘Rising Star’ to ‘Risen Star’ in a remarkably brief period of time… His outstanding interpretive and communicative skills make him an audience favorite.”

Please visit www.christopherhoulihan.com for more information.