Liz Knowles has brought her distinctive sound--the fire and finesse of Irish fiddle music combined with the tonal richness of the classical violin--to concert stages and festivals across the world. Her auspicious beginnings as the fiddler for Riverdance and as soloist on the soundtrack for the film Michael Collins established her as a virtuosic and versatile performer, and she has since performed as soloist with such orchestras as the New York Pops and the Cincinnati Pops. Liz was a member of the renowned Cherish the Ladies and today she performs with another all-star female super-group, the highly acclaimed String Sisters. She toured for four wonderful years in Europe, Asia and South America as performer, artistic and music director of the wildly popular show Celtic Legends, an Irish music and dance show. Liz first distinguished herself as a violinist in New York City, performing in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Broadway, with such artists such as Marcus Roberts, the Bang-on-a-Can Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, Paula Cole, Steve Reich, Eliot Goldenthal, Rachel Barton, Don Henley, and Tim O’Brien. It was also in New York that she discovered her true passion for Irish music. Today, she is well respected on both sides of the Atlantic as a player, composer and teacher. Her compositions and arrangements of tunes and songs have been recorded by John Whelan, Liz Carroll, Beolach, J.P. Cormier, Michael Black, John Doyle, Dennis Cahill, and Flook. Her favorite project last year was to arrange strings for original songs by KP Devlin. Liz has always produced her own albums as well as being co-producer of albums with such artists as Liz Carroll, Ensemble Galilei and her own trio Open the Door for Three. Her 2010 release, “Making Time”, the first in eleven years, was a snapshot of two decades of living and breathing Irish music, an exploration of both familiar and obscure Irish tunes from various old collections, Irish, Scottish and Medieval, arranged with Liz’s unique sensibility for strings and harmony. Her strong solo playing, signature string arrangements, and the powerful bouzouki of Pat Broaders provide the lush palette and landscape of this album. Guest musicians include Donna Long, Johnny Connolly and Kieran O’Hare. She has just finished co-producing an album with Liz Carroll for the Art Institute of Chicago for their exhibition "Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840", which was just released. Her trio Open the Door for Three with Kieran O'Hare and Pat Broaders is touring widely these days. After spending nearly four years traveling together overseas, this trio is a well-oiled machine of crafted arrangements and powerful music. They have been gracing the stages of many of the irish festivals and concert stages across the country and their second album, The Penny Wager, has just been released. Liz is a well-known and sought-after teacher of Irish music. She has taught at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Swannanoa Gathering for their Celtic and Fiddle weeks, the O'Flaherty Irish Weekend, and has taught at many Irish piping festivals and tionols across the US and in Ireland, to name a few.
2002
1998
Lyrichord
CD, Album
2010
Major B Music
CD, Album, Dig
2008
Dell Daisy Records
CD, Album
2015
Not On Label
CD, Album
2024
Under The Arch Records
CD, Album
2022
Azica
CD, Album
2018
Sisters (2)
CD, Album
2017
251 Records (3)
CD, Album
2017
Not On Label (Open The Door For Three Self-released)
CD, Album
2015
Not On Label (Open The Door For Three Self-released)
CD, Album
2015
Not On Label
CD
2012
Not On Label (Open The Door For Three Self-released)
CD, Album
2007
Compass Records
CD, Album
2007
Heilo
CD, Album
2007
Heilo
DVD-V, NTSC
2006
2006
2006
2005
Green Linnet
CD, Album
2005
2004
Big Bash Records
CD, Album
2002
Green Linnet
CD, Album
2001
Shanachie, Shanachie, Shanachie
CD, Album
2001
Windham Hill Records
CD, Album
2001
Magda Productions
CD
2001
2001
2000
Cuneiform Records
HDCD, Album
2000
Telarc
CD, Album
2000
2000
1998
Narada Equinox
CD, Comp
1998
Rykodisc
CD, Album
1997
Narada Lotus
CD, Album
1997
1997
1996
1996
1996
Not On Label (Gail Becker Self-released)
CD, Album
Not On Label (Duo Lagrange Rutkowski & Friends Self-released)
CD, Album
2006
Telarc
CD
2003
Web Music
2xCD, Comp