Stated simply, Mark O’Connor is a musical genius and “one of the most influential fiddle players who has ever walked the planet.”
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Mark O’Connor began his formative creative journey at the feet of American fiddling legend Benny Thomasson and the iconic jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. Now at age 55, he has acquired three Grammys, seven CMA awards and several national fiddle, guitar and mandolin champion titles and melded these influences into a new American classical music, perpetuating his vision of an American School of String Playing.
Here's what some of his critics have to say about him, including several superb musicians in their own right:
“Mark O’Connor – he’s not what you would call . . . human.” Stephane Grappelli
“He’s really one in a million. We won’t see a lot more like him in this generation. He is to music what Muhammad Ali is to boxing.” James Taylor
Describing his virtuosity, John Williams said: “You are witnessing a musical as well as an orthpedic miracle.”
And The New York Times wrote: “Mark O’Connor’s unfinished trajectory, from largely self-taught fiddle player to concert hall virtuoso and classical composer, is already one of the most spectacular journeys in recent classical music.” They said he was “the only musician today who can reach so deeply first into the refined, then the vernacular, giving his listeners a complex, sophisticated piece of early-21st-century classical music and then knocking them dead with the brown-dirt whine of a Texas fiddle."
Multi-instrumentalist Mark O’Connor has racked up seven CMA, three Grammys, and multiple national fiddle, guitar, and mandolin champion titles.
Beginning his young career on guitar, O’Connor appeared at the age of twelve on The Picking Parlour and The Grand Ole Opry. He became the youngest musician to sign a recording contract with Rounder Records. He composes, arranges, and records American music in folk, classical, and jazz genres. His works include concertos and compositions for orchestra, string quartets, string trios, choral music, solo unaccompanied pieces, folk and bluegrass ensemble, and a symphony.
In his new partnership with Skyline Artists, Mark has created the “Mark O’Connor Duo” for performing arts centers. The concert features his originals and classics, highlighting his violin, guitar, mandolin, and vocals, along with Grammy-winning violinist Maggie O’Connor.
Maggie O’Connor is a classically trained violinist with a unique background in traditional classical violin and American musical styles. Together the O’Connors make a formidable team, as noted by the magazine Acoustic Guitar:
“The first impression might be one of awe: Strummed chords, acrobatic single-note runs and clusters, and diamond point harmonics come at you with a velocity that leaves you stunned or giggling at the audacity of it all.”
The New York Times writes, "If Dvorak had spent his American leisure time in Nashville instead of Spillville, Iowa, his New World Symphony might have sounded like this." [Mark O'Connor's 4th Concerto "American Seasons"]
For information on Mark and Maggie O’Connor can be found at:
www.markoconnor.com and www.maggieoconnorviolin.com
Information on the O’Connor Method for violin and strings is available at
For Mr. O’Connor’s downloadable sheet music and recordings on his own OMAC Records label, please visit www.markoconnor.com and www.omacrecords.com
Mark and Maggie O’Connor use D’Addario Strings and Equipment