Mark O'Connor
| Mark O'Connor | |
|---|---|
Mark O'Connor on stage at the 1985 Cambridge Folk Festival
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | August 5, 1961 |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres | Classical music, folk music, jazz, fiddling, country, pop, bluegrass, |
| Occupation(s) | Violinist, composer, pedagogue |
| Instruments | Violin, fiddle, mandolin, mandola, guitar |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Rounder, Warner Bros., Sony Classical, OMAC |
| Associated acts | The New Nashville Cats, Hot Swing, Appalachia Waltz, Strength in Numbers, Dregs, Stephane Grappelli, American String Celebration, Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor |
Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961, Seattle) is an American bluegrass, jazz and country violinist, fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor 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 the fiddle. His mentors include Texas 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.
O'Connor won national titles on the fiddle, guitar and mandolin as a teenager. In 1975 at age thirteen, O'Connor won the WSM (AM), Tennessee, and Grand Ole Opry sponsored Grand Masters Fiddle Championships in Nashville against amateur and professional competitors of all ages. That same year he won another national championship, this time on acoustic guitar, at the National Flat Pick Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. At age 19, O'Connor 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 Fiddler's Contest in Weiser, Idaho.
...
Wikipedia