Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

player, composer, guitarist, and mandolinist whose music combines bluegrass,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and classical. A three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards and was a member of three influential

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...

s: the David Grisman Quintet, The Dregs, and Strength in Numbers. O'Connor has released 45 albums, of mostly original music, over a 45-year career. He has recorded and performed mostly his original American Classical music for decades. An expert at traditionally-based fiddle and bluegrass music, he also plays other instruments proficiently, including the violin, guitar and mandolin. He has appeared on 450 albums, composed nine concertos and has put together groundbreaking ensembles. His mentors have included Benny Thomasson who taught O'Connor to fiddle as a teenager, French jazz violinist

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

with whom O'Connor toured as a teenager, and guitarists

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His ...

and

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist and songwriter. A seven-time Grammy nominee, he is best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the longest serving guitarist for Deep Purple. Morse also enjoyed a successful ...

Early life

O'Connor was born and raised in the suburb of Mountlake Terrace, Washington, where his father was a construction worker and his mother was a dance teacher. His mother insisted that he learn to play the guitar at the age of five and, by the age of ten had taught himself to play the Flamenco guitar. As an eight-year-old in 1969, O'Connor watched fiddle player

Doug Kershaw Douglas James Kershaw (born January 24, 1936) is an American fiddle player, singer, and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1948, he began his career as part of the duo Rusty and Doug, along with his brother, Rusty Kershaw. He had an exte ...

perform the song " Diggy Liggy Lo" on ''

The Johnny Cash Show ''The Johnny Cash Show'' is an American television music variety show that was hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969, to March 31, 1971, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC; it was taped at the Ryman A ...

'', leaving such an impression on him that he begged his parents to purchase him a fiddle for the next three years before they finally gave him one for his eleventh birthday. In 1973, O'Connor's mother drove him and his little sister from Seattle to Nashville, Tennessee, where a local friend suggested that he might be allowed to play at the Picking Parlour. His performance at the Picking Parlour left the local audience stunned that a twelve-year-old knew so many old-time fiddle songs. A couple of days later, he made his

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

debut, introduced by

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

, and became the youngest musician to sign a recording contract with

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

. O'Connor won national titles on the fiddle, guitar, and mandolin as a teenager. In 1975, at the age of thirteen, O'Connor won the

WSM (AM) WSM (650 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a country music format (with classic country and Americana (music), Americana leanings, the latter of which is branded as "Route 650") and is known as ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and

sponsored Grand Masters Fiddle Championships in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, against amateur and professional competitors of all ages. That same year he won another national championship on acoustic guitar, at the National Flat Pick Guitar Championship in

Winfield, Kansas Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College. ...

. After graduating from the Mountlake Terrace High School in 1979, O'Connor joined the David Grisman Quintet as the replacement for guitar player, Tony Rice, and went out on tour with Stephane Grappelli with whom he performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

when he was only seventeen-years-old. As a teenager, he was also a member of the seminal instrumental group The Dregs, previously known as

Dixie Dregs Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band is known for instrumental music that fuses elements of rock, classical music, country music, country, jazz and bluegrass music, bluegrass into an eclectic sou ...

. At age 19, He won the Buck White International Mandolin Championship in

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-fo ...

. He is a four-time grand champion (1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984) at the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest in Weiser, Idaho. Several of his teenage albums are noteworthy and inspired a generation of young acoustic musicians, such as "Pickin' In The Wind", "A Texas Jam Session", "Markology" and "False Dawn".

Musical career

O'Connor composes, arranges, and records American music in genres that include folk, classical, and jazz. His works include concertos, and compositions for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s, string trios,

choral music A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, solo unaccompanied pieces, folk and bluegrass ensemble and a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

(see Compositions). After releasing six albums as a teen on

, O'Connor signed a long term record deal with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

in Nashville. He released a series of instrumental albums such as "Elysian Forest" and "On The Mark" as well as teaming up with Bela Fleck, Sam Bush,

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

and Edgar Meyer for "Strength In Numbers". His first award winning albums that catapulted him into the international stage include "New Nashville Cats" and "Heroes" both released on

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

O'Connor's "Fiddle Concerto (1992)", a

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

in American fiddle style commission by the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, has been performed over 250 times, making it one of the most performed concertos written in the last 50 years. The recording of the concerto was conducted by Marin Alsop and "Concordia Orchestra". In 1993, O'Connor teamed up with Charlie Daniels to record a sequel to Daniels' 1979 single " The Devil Went Down to Georgia" entitled "The Devil Comes Back To Georgia". O'Connor and Daniels recorded the song alongside

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country music, country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before be ...

and

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In t ...

. The song was on O'Connor's album, ''Heroes''. Between 1995 and 2000, O'Connor teamed up with

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

and Edgar Meyer to release "Appalachia Waltz" and "Appalachian Journey" spending nearly 2 years at the top of the classical music Billboard charts. In 1996, O'Connor composed ''The Olympic Reel'' for the closing ceremonies of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. It premiered in front of 100,000 people at

Centennial Olympic Stadium Centennial Olympic Stadium was the 85,000-seat main stadium of the 1996 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Paralympics, Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Construction of the stadium began in 1993, and it was comp ...

, as well as 3.5 billion people from the television viewing audience. In 1997, O'Connor and others composed and performed music based on folk melodies as arrangements for the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

-era

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...

documentary miniseries, '' Liberty! The American Revolution'' (the companion album is ''Liberty!''). The

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for the miniseries is O'Connor's ''Song of the Liberty Bell.'' In 1999, he recorded his ''Fanfare For The Volunteer'' with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

for Sony Classical, and one of his most critically acclaimed orchestral pieces ''American Seasons'', which alludes to

The Four Seasons (Vivaldi) ''The Four Seasons'' () is a group of four violin concerto, violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives musical expression to a season of the year. These were composed around 1718–1720, when Vivaldi was the court c ...

, for Sony Classical as well. "American Seasons", and his "Strings & Threads" Suite (1986) was performed by The Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra in 2001 at the Great Performers concert at

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. In a review by ''The New York Times'', "if Dvorak had spent his American leisure time in Nashville instead of Spillville, Iowa, his ''New World'' Symphony might have sounded like this." Both "Strings & Threads" Suite and "American Seasons" were recorded for the album The American Seasons, released in 2001 on the label OMAC Records. In 2008 O'Connor paired up with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg to record his "Double Violin Concerto" with Marin Alsop and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for OMAC Records. Over a period of five years, O'Connor teamed up with jazz musicians Frank Vignola and Jon Burr for a trilogy of "Hot Swing Trio" albums dedicated to his mentor Stephane Grappelli. O'Connor recorded ''Thirty-Year Retrospective'' in 2003 with the mandolinist

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

, guitarist Bryan Sutton, and bassist Byron House. 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 Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...

(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 "A Visit from St. Nicholas", routinely referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. A ...

'', narrated by

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

. His composition Appalachia Waltz (appearing on the album of the same title) has been adopted by Yo-Yo Ma as part of his live performance repertoire. One of his chamber music efforts is his piano trio entitled Poets and Prophets which is inspired by his boyhood hero

. O'Connor and

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

united in double bill concerts for premiering their collaboration. The piece was recorded by the Eroica Trio. On April 28, 2009, O'Connor teamed with chamber musicians Ida Kavafian, Paul Neubauer and Matt Haimovitz to present his second and third string quartets, amalgamating bluegrass with classical styles, at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. O'Connor released the recording for both string quartets under the label OMAC in May 2009. In 2010, O'Connor released his "Americana Symphony" recorded by the Baltimore Symphony as well as his "Concerto No. 6 (Old Brass) and released on OMAC Records. In 2011, he released his unique "The Improvised Violin Concerto" on CD and DVD with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. Partnering with his wife Maggie (who he married on November 8, 2014), his son Forrest, and his daughter-in-law, they recorded two band albums "Coming Home" for

and "A Musical Legacy" for OMAC Records. He also recorded a duets album with Maggie featuring music from the O'Connor Method. Some of O'Connor's albums are or contain tributes to his musical mentors and inspirations, including

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

, Benny Thomasson, and Grappelli. He has recorded solo albums for OMAC Records, Rounder,

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. and SONY Classical Records.

The O'Connor Method

O'Connor has developed a string instrument technique for music teachers and students, ''The O'Connor Method — A New American School of String Playing''. The method places an emphasis on music and playing techniques from North America, in addition to focusing on rhythmic development, ear training, and improvisation. The method is published as a series of books that also contains short essays about famous Americans who played fiddle, such as Johnny Gimble, Ray Nance, Byron Berline,

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman (; born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. He began his musica ...

Eddie South Edward Otha South (November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. Biography Born in Louisiana, Missouri, South studied classical music in Budapest, Paris, and Chicago. He turned to jazz because, as a Black musician, the ...

, Kenny Baker, Benny Thomasson,

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

and

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

, and the history of a wide variety of music including

, bluegrass, Romani,

western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, African American Spirituals,

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

and

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

. Teacher training sessions based on the Method take place around the United States and in other countries including at O'Connor Method String Camps. The physical edition which includes violin, viola, cello and orchestra method books was released in 2010. In 2020, the books were released as a digital edition for download.

Awards and honors

O'Connor won a

three times: in 1991 for Best Country Instrumental Performance, ''The New Nashville Cats''; in 2000 for Best Classical Crossover Album, '' Appalachian Journey'' with

and Edgar Meyer; and in 2016 for Best Bluegrass Album, ''Coming Home'' by the O'Connor Band With Mark O'Connor. He was named Musician of the Year by the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

six years in a row (from 1991–96). His collaborative single "Restless" (with Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner) won the 1991 CMA Vocal Event of the Year award. O'Connor is 4-time National Old-Time Fiddler Champion, 3-time Grand Master Fiddler Champion, 2-time national guitar flatpick champion, and world mandolin champion, all achieved in his teens. He was inducted into The National Fiddler Hall of Fame in 2009.

Discography

Albums

Singles

;Notes

Music videos

References

External links

Official Website
* * Mark O'Connornbsp;— on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'Ep. 92: Mark O'Connor, violinist and composer'
Interview by Tigran Arakelyan {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Mark 1961 births 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American classical composers American bluegrass fiddlers American folk musicians American country singer-songwriters American country fiddlers Dixie Dregs members Grammy Award winners American jazz violinists American male violinists Living people American mandolinists Musicians from Seattle Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) 21st-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians David Grisman Quintet members American male singer-songwriters People from Mountlake Terrace, Washington Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members