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

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award 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 or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

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 Benny Thomasson (April 22, 1909 – January 1984) was an American fiddler in the Texas style of fiddling. Thomasson was born in Winters, Texas, and raised in Gatesville, one of 10 children in a family where music was not only encouraged, i ...

who taught O'Connor to fiddle as a teenager, French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli with whom O'Connor toured as a teenager, and guitarists Chet Atkins, Doc Watson and Steve Morse.

Early life

O'Connor was born and raised in the Seattle 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 extens ...

perform the song "

Diggy Liggy Lo "Diggy Liggy Lo" is a single by American country music duo Rusty & Doug. The song was written and originally performed by Terry J. Clement. Released in 1961, their version peaked at number 14 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. Doug K ...

" on '' The Johnny Cash Show'', 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 weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

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 Al ...

. 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), Tennessee, and

sponsored Grand Masters Fiddle Championships in Nashville, Tennessee, 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. Hi ...

. 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 in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

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

string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 violinists ...

s, string trios, choral music, 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 com ...

(see

Compositions Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

). After releasing six albums as a teen on

, O'Connor signed a long term record deal with Warner Bros. Records 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 Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal * Bela, Janakpur, ...

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

, Jerry Douglas 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. O'Connor's "Fiddle Concerto (1992)", a violin concerto in American fiddle style commission by the

Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus The ‘Santa Fe Symphony' is Santa Fe's professional full-sized orchestra with a volunteer chorus. The orchestra performs regularly at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe. Beginnings ''The Santa Fe Symphony'' was founded by local musicians under t ...

, 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 Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...

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 country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American 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 beginning work as a ...

and Travis Tritt. The song was on O'Connor's album, ''Heroes''. Between 1995 and 2000, O'Connor teamed up with Yo-Yo Ma 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, ...

in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Construction of the stadium began in 1993, and it was complete and ready for the opening ceremony in Ju ...

, 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-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. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

documentary miniseries, ''

Liberty! The American Revolution ''Liberty! The American Revolution'' is a six-hour documentary miniseries about the Revolutionary War, and the instigating factors, that brought about the United States' independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was first broadcast o ...

'' (the companion album is ''Liberty!''). The theme music 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 one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

for Sony Classical, and one of his most critically acclaimed orchestral pieces ''American Seasons'', which alludes to The Four Seasons (Vivaldi), 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 millio ...

. In a review by ''The New York Times'', "if Dvorak had spent his American leisure time in Nashville instead of

Spillville, Iowa Spillville is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 385 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located in Calmar Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa, Calmar Township, ...

, 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

and the

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing ...

for OMAC Records. Over a period of five years, O'Connor teamed up with jazz musicians

Frank Vignola Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American jazz guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop. Career Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and ...

and

Jon Burr Jon Burr (born May 22, 1953, in Huntington, New York) is an American double bass player and author. He is a member of "Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio", a swing jazz trio, along with Mark O'Connor and Frank Vignola. The trio has recorded three albu ...

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, 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 (and released the music on his 1992 album ''Johnny Appleseed''), narrated by

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

. He contributed four tracks to a 1993 album on the theme of '' The Night Before Christmas'', narrated by Meryl Streep. 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, and used frequently as music for weddings including two of former Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

's daughters . 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 united in double bill concerts for premiering their collaboration. The piece was recorded by the

Eroica Trio The Eroica Trio is an American piano trio consisting of Erika Nickrenz, piano; Sara Parkins, violin; and Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello. The trio take their name from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony. They have toured and recorded widely, and released si ...

. On April 28, 2009, O'Connor teamed with chamber musicians

Ida Kavafian Ida Kavafian ( hy, Այտա Գավաֆեան) (born October 29, 1952 in Istanbul) is an American classical violinist and violist. Biography Kavafian was born in Turkey to Armenian parents. She moved with her family to America in 1956, and began ...

, 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 The Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) is a youth orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts under the artistic leadership of music director, Federico Cortese. Since 1958, BYSO has served thousands of young musicians from throughout New Engla ...

. Partnering with his wife Maggie (age 29 as of 2021), 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,

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

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

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 Ray Willis Nance (December 10, 1913 – January 28, 1976) was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra. Early years Nance was the leader of his ow ...

, Byron Berline, Pinchas Zukerman,

Eddie South Edward Otha South (November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. Biography South studied classical music in Budapest, Paris, and Chicago. He turned to jazz because, as a Black musician, there was no room for him in class ...

, Kenny Baker,

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

, Thomas Jefferson and

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

, and the history of a wide variety of music including jazz, bluegrass,

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, western swing, cajun,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, African American Spirituals, ragtime and

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates 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, t ...

. 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 Grammy Award three times: in 1991 for Best Country Instrumental Performance, ''The New Nashville Cats''; in 2000 for Best Classical Crossover Album, ''

Appalachian Journey ''Appalachian Journey'' is the second album from the string trio of bassist and composer Edgar Meyer, fiddler and composer Mark O'Connor, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. James Taylor and Alison Krauss join the trio individually on two Stephen Foster ...

'' with Yo-Yo Ma 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) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

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
'Ep. 92: Mark O'Connor, violinist and composer'
Interview by Tigran Arakelyan {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Mark 1961 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century 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 21st-century American composers Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) 20th-century American composers 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