Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American
fiddle player and composer whose music combines
bluegrass,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
,
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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
classical. A three-time
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
winner, he has won six
Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards and, was a member of three influential
musical ensembles; 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, born Stefano Grappelli) 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 fi ...
with whom O'Connor toured as a teenager, and guitarists
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...
,
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. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...
and
Steve Morse
Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...
.
Early life
O'Connor was born and raised in the
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
suburb of
Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Mountlake Terrace is a suburban city in Snohomish County, Washington
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Wash ...
, 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
A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, more gritty sound compared to the clas ...
.
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 exten ...
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
''The Johnny Cash Show'' is an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969, to March 31, 1971, on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. ...
'', 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 debut, introduced by
Roy Acuff, and became the youngest musician to sign a recording contract with
Rounder Records.
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 50,000-watt clear channel AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a full-time country music format (with classic country and Americana leanings, the latter of which is branded as "Route 650") at 650& ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and
Grand Ole Opry sponsored Grand Masters Fiddle Championships in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, 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.
After graduating from the
Mountlake Terrace High School
Mountlake Terrace High School is a public high school located in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, United States. Mountlake Terrace HS is known for its Jazz Band and basketball program, which has won the Wesco Championship eight times. It is the thi ...
in 1979, O'Connor joined the
David Grisman Quintet
The David Grisman Quintet is a self-styled alternative bluegrass/acoustic jazz band founded by David Grisman in 1975 in San Francisco, California, US. The quintet draws from genres including Bill Monroe's bluegrass legacy and Django Reinhard's 1 ...
as the replacement for guitar player,
Tony Rice
David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...
, and went out on tour with Stephane Grappelli with whom he performed at
Carnegie Hall 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
The Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band's performance consists entirely of instrumentals that fuse elements of diverse genres such as rock, classical music, country, jazz and bluegrass into an e ...
.
At age 19, He won the
Buck White International Mandolin Championship in
Kerrville, Texas
Kerrville is a city in, 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- ...
. He is a four-time grand champion (1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984) at the
National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest
The National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest is an old-time music competition, festival, and musical gathering in the western United States, held annually during the third full week in June in Weiser, Idaho, about northwest of Boise. Within the fiddli ...
in
Weiser, Idaho
Weiser ( ) is a city in the rural western part of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Washington County. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence o ...
. 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:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
,
string quartets,
string trio
A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cell ...
s,
choral music
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...
, solo unaccompanied pieces, folk and bluegrass ensemble and a
symphony (see
Compositions). After releasing six albums as a teen on
Rounder Records, O'Connor signed a long term record deal with
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
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
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 Reviva ...
,
Jerry Douglas
Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer.
Career
In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he h ...
and
Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times.
Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...
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. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
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
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
Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The De ...
to record a sequel to Daniels' 1979 single "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album '' Million Mile Reflections''.
The song is written in the key of D minor. Vassar Clements originally wrote the basic ...
" entitled "The Devil Comes Back To Georgia". O'Connor and Daniels recorded the song alongside
Johnny Cash,
Marty Stuart and
Travis Tritt
James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and 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 the 20 ...
. The song was on O'Connor's album,
''Heroes''. Between 1995 and 2000, O'Connor teamed up with
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
and
Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times.
Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...
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
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
It premiered in front of 100,000 people at
Centennial Olympic Stadium, 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
-era
Public Broadcasting Service documentary miniseries, ''
Liberty! The American Revolution'' (the companion album is ''Liberty!''). The
theme music
Theme music is a musical composition that 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 so ...
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 for Sony Classical, and one of his most critically acclaimed orchestral pieces ''American Seasons'', which alludes to
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
''The Four Seasons'' ( it, Le quattro stagioni) is a group of four violin concertos 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 th ...
, 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.
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
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (born January 10, 1961) is an Italian and American classical violinist and teacher.
Early life and education
Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome, Italy. Her father left when she was three months old. She emigrated with ...
to record his "Double Violin Concerto" with
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 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 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 al ...
for a trilogy of "Hot Swing Trio" albums dedicated to his mentor
Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to:
* Stéphane, a French given name
* Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece
* Stephane (Paphlagonia)
Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arr ...
. 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
Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs.
Biography Early career
Sutton's grandfather and ...
, 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
John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern cou ...
(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'', more commonly known 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'' i ...
'', narrated by
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
.
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 no ...
's daughters . One of his chamber music efforts is his piano trio entitled Poets and Prophets which is inspired by his boyhood hero
Johnny Cash. 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 Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...
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 Paul Neubauer (born in Encino, California, in 1962) is an American violist. Neubauer was a student of Paul Doktor, Alan de Veritch and William Primrose. In August 1980, aged 17, he won the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and Worksh ...
and
Matt Haimovitz
Matt Haimovitz (born December 3, 1970) is a cellist based in the United States and Canada. Born in Israel, he grew up in the US from the age of five. He plays mainly a cello made by Matteo Goffriller in 1710.
Family, musical education and ea ...
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
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...
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 (age 29 as of 2021), his son Forrest and his daughter-in-law, they recorded two band albums "Coming Home" for
Rounder Records 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 fo ...
,
Benny Thomasson, 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
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
.
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
John Paul Gimble (May 30, 1926 – May 9, 2015) was an American country musician associated with Western swing. Gimble was considered one of the most important fiddlers in the genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 ...
,
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
Byron Douglas Berline (July 6, 1944 – July 10, 2021) was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock.
Life and career
Berline was born in Caldwell, Kansas, ...
,
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, 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 Zuk ...
,
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,
Benny Thomasson,
Scott Joplin,
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
and
Davy Crockett, and the history of a wide variety of music including
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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
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
Western swing music 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 attracted huge crowds to dance ...
,
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 U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
,
blues,
African American Spirituals,
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
and
Mariachi. 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
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
three times: in 1991 for Best Country Instrumental Performance, ''The New Nashville Cats''; in 2000 for Best Classical Crossover Album, ''
Appalachian Journey'' with
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
and
Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times.
Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...
; 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 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
See also
References
External links
Official Website*
*
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle 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 ...
nbsp;— on
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
'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