Holiday Pops! “Celtic Holiday”2025
NEWS CONTACT:
Jennifer Brink, Executive Director
Phone: (518) 793-1348
E-mail: exdir@gfso.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 13, 2025
Glens Falls Symphony presents Holiday Pops: Celtic Holiday
Experience the magical sound of Celtic this holiday season!
Celebrate with The Glens Falls Symphony as they welcome world-renowned Fiddler Liz Knowles, whose music seamlessly combines the fire of Irish fiddle traditions with the rich tonalities of classical violin.
With early acclaim as a performer in Riverdance and as a soloist on the Michael Collins soundtrack, Liz quickly established herself as a versatile and virtuoso musician. Over her career, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras like the New York Pops, played on Broadway in The Pirate Queen, and served as the Music Director and performer with Celtic Legends for over four years. Currently, she is a key member of the String Sisters and the Martin Hayes Quartet.
Also, joining the musicians and Music Director Charles Peltz on stage will be his director colleagues who lead the choruses of Queensbury and Lake George High Schools, bringing their top voices to join in the music-making. Each high school chorus will sing a work with the orchestra alone, and then join together for the big finale!
The Symphony is also reviving a much-beloved holiday tradition of inviting local celebrities to campaign for the baton to conduct the orchestra. This year, the conductor candidates who have put their hat in the ring are Paul Bricoccoli, The Bullpen Tavern, and Talk of the Town Restaurant; Lauren Cygan, Executive Director of the Glens Falls Branch of the Saratoga Springs Regional YMCA, and Jonathan Newell, Musician & Executive /Artistic Director of the Strand Theatre.
Each one has already begun vying for the baton by posting on social media and attracting “voters” at the fall Symphony concerts. Each vote costs $10; all proceeds go to the Glens Falls Symphony educational and performance programs.
In celebration of the Symphony’s 42nd “Milestones” season, the holiday concert will be joining forces with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks, who seek to change the lives of children facing adversity for the better, forever. They work with youth in communities across Warren, Washington, and northern Saratoga counties. Their mentors work with children in our community, in their schools, and at various locations in between. All in attendance are asked to bring an unwrapped toy to donate. Donations will be accepted in the lobby of Hudson Falls High School from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Executive Director Jennifer Brink shares, “This holiday concert is a favorite tradition for so many people in our region and beyond. We are especially delighted this year to be joining forces with the choral students from two area high schools to bring musical joy to so many people. This year, tickets are selling sooner than they ever have, so we encourage people to get their preferred seats soon. We invite people in the community to bring toys to donate for the kids in our region, and in this way, we can all celebrate the spirit of giving at this special time of year.”
Program:
Goeller Christmas Festival of Carols
Goeller Wexford Carol
Liz Knowles and orchestra
Intermission
O’Loughlin Christmas Ornaments
Carey all I want for Christmas is you
Custer have yourself a Merry little Christmas
Vivaldi Gloria (with Lake George HS Choir)
Richman Hanukkah Festival
Anderson Sleigh Ride
Forester Angels We Have Heard on High (with Queensbury HS Choir)
Liz and voices The Friendly Beasts /Joy to the World
Christmas in Killarney
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
“Holiday Pops: Celtic Holiday” Related Events:
-Sunday, December 7, at 4 pm: “Holiday Pops: Celtic Holiday “
Hudson Falls High School. TICKETS: Adult Tier 1: $45, Adult Tier 2: $39, Adult Tier 3: $29, Student Ticket: $12. (All seats are general admission inside the Tier you purchase)
Location: 80 E La Barge St. Hudson Falls, NY 12839
Doors Open at 2:30 pm / No pre-concert talk with this performance.
-Bring a toy to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks, who will be in the lobby from 2:30-4 pm, accepting unwrapped gifts.
Visit their website for their holiday wish list: https://bbbssadk.org/
-2025 Conductors Contest
Votes are $10 each and can be purchased online.
Visit www.theglensfallssymphony.org or call (518) 793-1348 to purchase tickets. Voting ends Sunday, December 7, at 4 pm.
Tickets: SEATS ARE LIMITED – There will be a wait list when sold out
“Holiday Pops: Celtic Holiday” tickets: Adult Tier 1: $45, Adult Tier 2: $39, Adult Tier 3: $29, Student Ticket: $12. Visit www.theglensfallssymphony.org or call (518) 793-1348 to purchase tickets. For more information, contact Jennifer Brink at (518) 793-1348 or exdir@gfso.org Glens Falls Symphony Office (518) 793-1348
Located upstairs in the LARAC Gallery building: 7 Lapham Place in Glens Falls. Office hours: Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This program is sponsored by:
-Arrow Bank
-Morgan Stanley
-NYSCA
-Dan & Jan Hazewski
-The Glens Falls Chronicle
-The Q
-Alexander Orthodontics
-JUST Water
-Keena
-Finch Paper
About Liz Knowles:
Liz Knowles’ fascination with music has always been rooted in how one can arrive, land, and leave a note. Her early foundations were in classical music, but her discovery of Irish music connected the dots between memories of her grandfather’s singing, a lifelong exploration of modal melodies in Early music, and the “In-Between”, a life theme for Liz that illuminates the challenge and vitality of the liminal places in life and music.
Liz has established herself as a dynamic performer and recording artist as a soloist on the soundtrack for “Michael Collins”, fiddler with “Riverdance”, Broadway’s “The Pirate Queen” and “The Green Bird”, soloist with the New York Pops, and featured artist for the Ireland 100 Festival at the Kennedy Center. She was the music director and producer for several stage shows and recording projects that toured Europe, Asia, and South America. Her compositions and arrangements of tunes and songs have been recorded by John Whelan, Flook, Chicago’s Metropolis Symphony Orchestra, Liz Carroll, Beolach, Bachue, J.P. Cormier, Michael Black, John Doyle, and Ensemble Galilei. 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.
Liz has composed and produced music for two exhibits featuring Irish art, first at the Art Institute in Chicago, as well as two commissioned pieces for Notre Dame’s Snite Museum and for a book release later this year. She and Liz Carroll produce a podcast called “The Lizzes Podcast,” and Season 2 is due out in the spring of 2024. She currently tours with her trio Open the Door for Three, The String Sisters, The Martin Hayes Quartet, and a new trio with Niall Vallely and Niwel Tsumbu.
About the Glens Falls Symphony:
The Glens Falls Symphony, begun as a community amateur orchestra in 1977, now moves into its fifth decade of music-making as a professional orchestra. Since Maestro Charles Peltz arrived in 2000, the fully professional Glens Falls Symphony has performed a dynamic repertoire, regularly including musical premieres and world-renowned guest artists.
The orchestra continues to expand its musical and educational offerings to include Children’s Concerts for up to 3,000 students in the 7-county region in Warren and Washington counties, plus in the southeastern Adirondacks. The orchestra served over 14,000 people in 2024, and the 42nd anniversary season welcomed the largest audiences in its history. The musicians offer master classes, as well as family concerts, summer pops programs, and more. Cited as “one of the great orchestras of our country” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Joseph Schwantner, the orchestra comprises professional musicians who come from all over the Northeast and beyond to perform.
# # #