There are two artists known as Mark O'Connor
1. Mark O'Connor (born … Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists known as Mark O'Connor
1. Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961 in Seattle, Washington) is an American bluegrass, country and classical fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition. As a teenager he won national string instrument championships for his virtuoso playing of the guitar and mandolin as well as on the fiddle. His mentors include Texas old-time fiddler Benny Thomasson who taught O'Connor to fiddle as a teenager, French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli with whom O'Connor toured as a teenager and guitarist Chet Atkins.
At an early age Mark O'Connor was considered a child prodigy, his first instrument being the guitar. "I was a guitar player first, beginning around age 6." said O'Connor in a recent interview. "At age 11 I got really interested in bluegrass and country guitar, and I was able to really draw inspiration from all the great guitar players that were recording in that era; of course, Chet Atkins, and Jerry Reed, and Doc Watson and some of the bluegrass guitar players like Tony Rice, and Norman Blake."
He has recorded solo albums for Rounder, Warner Bros. Records, Sony, and his own CD line OMAC Records.
O'Connor has won two Grammy awards; one for his New Nashville Cats album and another for his Appalachian Journey album he did with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer. He was named Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association six years in a row (from 1991-1996). His collaborative single Restless (with Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner) won the 1991 CMA Vocal Event of the Year award.
O'Connor has crossed musical genres, composing, arranging, and recording folk, classical and jazz music. His Fiddle Concerto has received over 200 performances making it one of the most performed concertos written in the last 50 years. He has composed six violin concertos, string quartets, string trios, choral works, solo unaccompanied works and a new Symphony. He has worked and recorded with a wide variety of artists, such as Chet Atkins, James Taylor, Michelle Shocked, Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Renée Fleming, Stéphane Grappelli, Patty Loveless, The Dixie Dregs and Wynton Marsalis. Some of his more recent albums are or contain tributes to his musical mentors and inspirations, including Niccolò Paganini, Benny Thomasson, and Grappelli.
He has contributed music to the PBS Series Liberty! The American Revolution (the companion album is Liberty!). He recorded his "Fanfare For The Volunteer" with the London Philharmonic for Sony Classical, and one of his most critically acclaimed orchestral pieces Americans Seasons for Sony Classical as well. O'Connor recorded a 2 1/2 hour double CD of his music with the mandolinist Chris Thile entitled Thirty-Year Retrospective. It celebrates his thirty years as a recording artist on his own OMAC label. He also provided the soundtrack to a 30-minute animated film on the story of Johnny Appleseed (and released the music on his 1992 album Johnny Appleseed), narrated by Garrison Keillor, He contributed four tracks to a 1993 album on the theme of The Night Before Christmas narrated by Meryl Streep that was recently reissued for Starbucks. One of his most popular compositions, Appalachia Waltz (appearing on the album of the same title), has been adopted by Yo-Yo Ma as part of his live performance repertoire, and used frequently as music for weddings including two of Vice President Al Gore's daughters. O'Connor hosts an annual fiddle camp (the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp) in Tennessee and an annual Strings Conference in San Diego, California. O'Connor is currently living in New York City working on new music. One of his recent efforts is his piano trio entitled Poets and Prophets which is inspired by his boyhood hero Johnny Cash. Currently O'Connor and Rosanne Cash have teamed up for concert dates premiering their collaboration in New York at Merkin Hall, January 2007. He plays on Ken Burns' The War.
On April 28, 2009, O'Connor teamed with prominent chamber musicians Kavafian, Neubauer and Haimovitz to present his second and third string quartets, amalgamating bluegrass with classical styles, at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. A recording by the same artists is to be released on O'Connor's OMAC label during May.
2. Mark O'Connor is a musician from Limerick, Ireland. He has released three albums; 'Actions' released October 2003, 'Robin's Egg Blues' released April 2007 and 'ESPERO' released 1 May 2011. This latest album features a guest appearance by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.
1. Mark O'Connor (born … Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists known as Mark O'Connor
1. Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961 in Seattle, Washington) is an American bluegrass, country and classical fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition. As a teenager he won national string instrument championships for his virtuoso playing of the guitar and mandolin as well as on the fiddle. His mentors include Texas old-time fiddler Benny Thomasson who taught O'Connor to fiddle as a teenager, French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli with whom O'Connor toured as a teenager and guitarist Chet Atkins.
At an early age Mark O'Connor was considered a child prodigy, his first instrument being the guitar. "I was a guitar player first, beginning around age 6." said O'Connor in a recent interview. "At age 11 I got really interested in bluegrass and country guitar, and I was able to really draw inspiration from all the great guitar players that were recording in that era; of course, Chet Atkins, and Jerry Reed, and Doc Watson and some of the bluegrass guitar players like Tony Rice, and Norman Blake."
He has recorded solo albums for Rounder, Warner Bros. Records, Sony, and his own CD line OMAC Records.
O'Connor has won two Grammy awards; one for his New Nashville Cats album and another for his Appalachian Journey album he did with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer. He was named Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association six years in a row (from 1991-1996). His collaborative single Restless (with Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner) won the 1991 CMA Vocal Event of the Year award.
O'Connor has crossed musical genres, composing, arranging, and recording folk, classical and jazz music. His Fiddle Concerto has received over 200 performances making it one of the most performed concertos written in the last 50 years. He has composed six violin concertos, string quartets, string trios, choral works, solo unaccompanied works and a new Symphony. He has worked and recorded with a wide variety of artists, such as Chet Atkins, James Taylor, Michelle Shocked, Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Renée Fleming, Stéphane Grappelli, Patty Loveless, The Dixie Dregs and Wynton Marsalis. Some of his more recent albums are or contain tributes to his musical mentors and inspirations, including Niccolò Paganini, Benny Thomasson, and Grappelli.
He has contributed music to the PBS Series Liberty! The American Revolution (the companion album is Liberty!). He recorded his "Fanfare For The Volunteer" with the London Philharmonic for Sony Classical, and one of his most critically acclaimed orchestral pieces Americans Seasons for Sony Classical as well. O'Connor recorded a 2 1/2 hour double CD of his music with the mandolinist Chris Thile entitled Thirty-Year Retrospective. It celebrates his thirty years as a recording artist on his own OMAC label. He also provided the soundtrack to a 30-minute animated film on the story of Johnny Appleseed (and released the music on his 1992 album Johnny Appleseed), narrated by Garrison Keillor, He contributed four tracks to a 1993 album on the theme of The Night Before Christmas narrated by Meryl Streep that was recently reissued for Starbucks. One of his most popular compositions, Appalachia Waltz (appearing on the album of the same title), has been adopted by Yo-Yo Ma as part of his live performance repertoire, and used frequently as music for weddings including two of Vice President Al Gore's daughters. O'Connor hosts an annual fiddle camp (the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp) in Tennessee and an annual Strings Conference in San Diego, California. O'Connor is currently living in New York City working on new music. One of his recent efforts is his piano trio entitled Poets and Prophets which is inspired by his boyhood hero Johnny Cash. Currently O'Connor and Rosanne Cash have teamed up for concert dates premiering their collaboration in New York at Merkin Hall, January 2007. He plays on Ken Burns' The War.
On April 28, 2009, O'Connor teamed with prominent chamber musicians Kavafian, Neubauer and Haimovitz to present his second and third string quartets, amalgamating bluegrass with classical styles, at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. A recording by the same artists is to be released on O'Connor's OMAC label during May.
2. Mark O'Connor is a musician from Limerick, Ireland. He has released three albums; 'Actions' released October 2003, 'Robin's Egg Blues' released April 2007 and 'ESPERO' released 1 May 2011. This latest album features a guest appearance by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.
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@markoconnor
Timely points of interest:
New CD "Duo" to be released August 5, 2015
Husband/wife Collaboration - with violinist/fiddler Maggie O'Connor
O'Connor Method String Camp expanding to New York this August
Performance at The GRAMMY Museum - Monday July 27 8pm
Here are two videos released in anticipation of the album release:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkf5uscX7Mg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfhr0VMDtE
About Mark O'Connor:
For his first recording for Sony Classical, Appalachia Waltz, GRAMMY-winning violinist Mark O'Connor collaborated with fellow GRAMMY winners Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer. The album gained O'Connor worldwide recognition as a leading proponent of a new American musical idiom. His successful follow-up release, Appalachian Journey, received a GRAMMY for Best Classical Crossover Album. After an award-winning recording career in Nashville appearing on more than 500 albums, several of which are GRAMMY winners, including his own New Nashville Cats, O'Connor has immersed himself into perpetuating American classical music. His first full-length orchestral score, "Fiddle Concerto," has become the most-performed modern violin concerto composed in the last 50 years.O'Connor's upcoming release, Duo, a collaboration with his wife, fiddler/violinist Maggie O'Connor, features American classics arranged for two violins. www.markoconnor.com
To schedule an interview with Mark O'Connor, contact: Cheri Jamison, Cadenza Artists Liaison, cheri@cadenzaartists.com, 424-354-9612 (call/text)
###
EVENT INVITATION:
Multiple-Grammy winning violinist/composer Mark O'Connor at the Grammy Museum
The GRAMMY Museum welcomes Mark O'Connor to the Clive Davis Theater for an intimate discussion and performance surrounding his music career, moderated by Scott Goldman, Vice President of the GRAMMY Foundation.
Event website: http://www.grammymuseum.org/events/detail/an-evening-with-mark-oconnor
WHO: Mark O’Connor, multi-Grammy-winning violinist/composer
WHAT: Intimate discussion and performance moderated by Scott Goldman, Grammy Foundation Vice President
WHEN: Monday, July 27, 8pm (doors open at 7:30)
WHERE: Grammy Museum at LA Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015
PARKING: http://www.grammymuseum.org/visit/planning-your-visit/hourslocation
CONTACT for MEDIA COMP LIST: Cheri Jamison, Cadenza Artists Liaison, cheri@cadenzaartists.com, 424-354-9612
With many thanks,
Julia
@markoconnor
Hello everyone, thank you so much for the years of interest and love for my composition "Appalachia Waltz." I just love playing this with Maggie, it means so much to us. And especially that you love listening to my music and our playing this together! You may want to view the performance of this piece when we played it the altar when we got married in 2014. It is quite a moment for us as you cam imagine and now see on the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gy8KFJ6bgI&index=11&list=PLfBSlaNrS1v0cEwzatQtK5U7chkWBg5iQ
@Oenloveslife
Dear Mark, I am so glad you are coming to Maine! I saw you at Johnny D's in Somerville MA maybe 25 years ago? To us you are truly a national treasure. Bless you and thank you for all the beauty and wildness you have brought into this world : )
@MarthaVail
This was the music we walked to the chuppah with--thank you!
@widowmakerheartattack5212
Mark O'Connor plz keep them coming Mark ! You story of not playing for so long and to have this back......is mind blowing. Thank God for this..
@robertburleson5509
I could listen to this all day......but I'd be dehydrated. The tears shall not cease! This piece is one of the most emotion filled pieces of music I've ever had the pleasure to witness.
@MelBearns
Mark and Maggie - you are both nothing less than national treasures. Long may you live, love and play! <3
@abhijitborah
Thank you O'Connors, for giving us good American fiddle music.
@mattsimmons5433
Wow. Stunning. I saw a young Mark play at the Paramount Theater in Seattle in 1980 with David Grisman and Stephane Grappelli. He continues to making staggeringly beautiful music. Bravo!
@markoconnor
“Absolutely beautiful!!!!!” -Staci Jefferies
“Preciosa musica” (translation).Beautiful music. -Carmeta Libertad
“Such lovely music. Thanks for sharing your talents.” -Mary Bear
“Wow.” -Gail Kaska
“The first time I heard this song it brought tears to my eyes ...it still moves me” -Machelle Stewart
“Another magical musical marriage. Check out their other videos, beautiful settings, beautiful clothes.” -Patti Millet
@Fegleyviolin
Mark O'Connor Very cool! I still have some old photos that Jim Fegley had here in the shop... I hope all is well!