Houlihan, Christopher
Houlihan, Christopher
Phillip Truckenbord Artists, Hartford, CT
"Clearly a talented young player, and one admires his controlled tempi allowing the music to speak clearly....flair and polish...some fine playing with stylish touches of registration and rubato." Choir & Organ, London, 2009
"Enormous talent...an amazing musician and performer....the audience should be prepared to be mesmerized." The Republican, Springfield MA, 2009
"Organist's star rises high, quickly...rising star of the organ world who already has his own fan club" Cincinnati Enquirer, 2009
"An exciting young international organist...he travels across America and into Europe thrilling audiences with his skill and vivacity." Chicoppe Register, MA, 2009
"A world-renowned organist." Hartford Magazine, 2009
Christopher Houlihan is 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 (Houlihan has "the charisma and energy of a major soloist" and "strong international potential" wrote the critic of The Hartford Courant).
His debut compact disc on the Towerhill label was released in 2007. His second CD release on Towerhill is set for autumn 2009.
He earned the "Prix de Perfectionnement" (equivalent to a university artist's diploma in the US) from the French National Regional Conservatory in Versailles while still an undergraduate. During his studies in Versailles under Jean-Baptiste Robin, he also won "Le Prix des Amis de l'orgue de Versailles." He performed a benefit concert in Auxerre for research into Lou Gehrig's disease at the invitation of the Auxerre Rotary Club, among other recitals while in France as a student.
During his full year of studies in France, Christopher also served as Assistant Musician at the American Cathedral in Paris. On a Sunday he was scheduled both to play the organ and conduct both choirs for the services, the cathedral received a few hours advance notice that the President and First Lady of the United States, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bush, would attend. The Dean of the cathedral later wrote that he considered Christopher "one of the great heros" of that challenging morning.
Christopher is a graduate of Trinity College in Connecticut where he studied with John Rose, his organ teacher from the age of 12. While at Trinity College. where he won the Helen Loveland Morris Prize in Music and graduated with honors, Christopher served for a year as Assistant Organist at the Cathedral of St. Joseph (Roman Catholic) and another year in the same role at Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal), both in Hartford. For three years he was Assistant Organist at the Trinity College Chapel.
Late in his freshman year at Trinity a group of his friends formed the "Houli Fans," a club aimed mostly at gathering fellow students to attend Christopher's organ recitals and shout and cheer their enthusiastic support. Most of these students had never experienced an organ recital before supporting their friend. When he performed with the 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. Houli fans is now a world-wide phenomenon on Facebook which has members throughout the United States and around the globe. It's new members frequently come from the ranks of aspiring young organists who are excited by his performances (live or on You tube) which offer electricity and audience-friendly accessibility.
Christopher is currently a graduate student of Paul Jacobs at The Juilliard School in New York. He was awarded two of the school's major scholarships, The Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship, and The Chairman's Grant which was awarded by the president to "support a small number of students who have demonstrated exceptional potential for success at Juilliard."
Prior to attending Trinity College, Christopher won the high school division First Prize of the Albert Schweitzer Organ National Competition at age 15. He has also twice won the Charlotte Hoyt Bagnall Scholarship for Church Musicians, and at Trinity was the first recipient of the John Rose Organ Scholarship. After the organ, his major passion is musical theater and he has many singing performance roles to his credit.