Bio
Liz Knowles’ fascination with music has always been rooted in how one can arrive, land, and leave a note. Liz’s early foundations on the violin were grounded in classical music but while living in New York City, she began to explore other genres, performing with such artists as Marcus Roberts, The Bang-on-a-Can Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, Paula Cole, Steve Reich, Eliot Goldenthal, Rachel Barton, and Don Henley. Through these explorations, Irish traditional music emerged as the most resonant musical language for her and she has since established herself as a dynamic performer and recording artist in Irish traditional music as fiddler for Riverdance, a member of Cherish the Ladies, The String Sisters, and The Martin Hayes Quartet, and with her trio, Open the Door for Three. She was featured as soloist on the film soundtrack for “Michael Collins”, performed on Broadway with “The Pirate Queen” and has been a featured soloist with many orchestras across America, including The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center. Her compositions and arrangements of tunes and songs have been recorded and performed by artists around the world and she has acted as music director and producer for several international stage shows and recording projects including collaborations with such institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Notredame and the University of Toronto. In addition to serving on the faculty at the New England Conservatory, she has an active online teaching schedule of lessons, seminars, and presentations on various topics, some of which have been presented by organizations such as New York’s Irish Arts Center, and Music Network Ireland and is a highly sought after teacher in the Irish music world both here in the United States and abroad. She writes a bi-monthly newsletter, LizNotes, and produces a podcast with fiddler Liz Carroll called The Lizzes.

The Schools
Bachelor of Arts in Music, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY
Associates Degree in Interior Architecture, Harrington College of Design, Chicago, IL
Archeworks, residency and internship
Chicago, IL
Teaching highlights
New England Conservatory | Adjunct faculty | ensemble, private lessons
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University of Limerick | Irish World Academy | master class
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Camps | Swannanoa Gathering | Acadia Trad Fest | MAD Week | Catskills Irish Arts Week |
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Tionols | St. Louis, Southeast, Northeast, Willie Kennedy |
Theatrical highlights
Riverdance the Show
The Pirate Queen, Broadway
The Green Bird, Off-Broadway
Phantom of the Opera, tour
performer/violinist
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Celtic Legends | France US Asia South America | 2010-2014
Celtic Dances | France 2012-2016
Musical director/performer/composer
Selected discography
The Celtic Fiddle of Liz Knowles
Art Institute of Chicago: Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design
Martin Hayes Quartet: Blue
Open the Door for Three
Open the Door for Three: The Pennywager
Open the Door for Three: The Joyful Hour
Kieran O’Hare: Kieran O’Hare
Cherish the Ladies: The Girls Won’t Leave the Boys Alone
Liz Carroll: Lake Effect
String Sisters: Live album
String Sisters: Between Wind and Water
Ensemble Galilei: Alta
Ensemble Galilei: From the Isles to the Courts
Ensemble Galilei: A Winter’s Night: Christmas in the Great Hall
Ensemble Galilei: Come Gentle Night
John Whelan: Flirting with the Edge
John Whelan: Passage of Time
Lifescapes (Target store): Celtic Passion
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra: A Celtic Spectacular
J.P. Cormier | Michael Black | Christa Burch | Pamela Wyn Shannon | K.P. Devlin
String arrangements on recordings with:
Dance shows (producer):
Celtic Legends: The Show
Celtic Dances: The Show
The Cincinnati Pops: A Celtic Spectacular
With orchestra:
Other recording highlights:
Waukegan city project proposal (composer/performer)
Michael Collins, Neil Jordan film (solo violinist)
Paula Cole (w/Peter Gabriel): This Fire
The Pirate Queen (Broadway)
Where the Wild Things Are
Eight Lines (Steve Reich)
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