For most musicians, the title of violinist or fiddler is usually sufficient to accurately describe their playing style. When it comes to a performer of such virtuosic skill and stylistic diversity as Mark O’Connor, however, a new category is needed.
Whether he’s blowing through a bluegrass showpiece like “Orange Blossom Special,” a swinging hot jazz number or one of his many original American classic compositions, O’Connor seemingly excels wherever his bow takes him.
The Seattle native said his tendency to master a style and then push it into new directions, to test its boundaries, has always been his way of keeping himself interested.
“There was only one thing harder than what I chose to do, and that was boredom,” O’Connor said, laughing. “I think that’s probably something I became used to being, a trailblazer, where you had to fight like crazy, just to get through the weeds.”
O’Connor’s road to joining the upper echelons of acoustic musicians began when he first laid hands on a bow at age 11 after seven years of studying classical guitar. It was a chance to finally scratch a three-year itch he’d had to play the violin, and once he did, he started making waves.
In 1975, two years after taking up the instrument, he won the Grand Masters Fiddle Championship in Nashville. That same year, he released his first album and began touring in the Southeast. He has continued to rack up accolades, including a pair of Grammys and a six-year streak as the Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year.
Today, the now 48-year-old O’Connor will take the stage for a special gala concert at the 54th Sewanee Summer Music Festival. This will be his first appearance at the festival since 2000.
The concert program hasn’t been announced, and considering his history of pushing in every direction, anything could happen when O’Connor takes the stage. The one certainty, he said, is that he’ll only enjoy it if the audience does, too.
“I don’t really get a lot of satisfaction of me just simply playing, unless the audience is right there,” he said. “That’s my whole goal, to really move an audience.”
IF YOU GO
What: Sewanee Summer Music Festival gala concert with special guest Mark O’Connor.
When: 7:30 p.m. CDT today.
Where: Guerry Hall, University of the South, 735 University Ave., Monteagle, Tenn.
Admission: $25.
Phone: 931-598-1225.
Website: musicfestival.sewanee.edu.
AWARDS AND HONORS
1975: Grand Masters Fiddle Champion (at age 13)
1975/1977: National Flatpick Guitar Champion
1982: International Mandolin Champion
1983-1987: Frets Magazine Readers Poll Musician of the Year
1991: Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance
1991-1996: Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year
2006: Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
1978: “Markology”
1982: “False Dawn”
1986: “Meanings of …”
1991: “The New Nashville Cats”
1993: “Heroes”
1994: “Johnny Appleseed”
1998: “Midnight on the Water”
2001: “Mark O’Connor: The American Seasons”
WHAT’S NEXT
Mark O’Connor said he is working on a number of compositional projects, including a string orchestra symphony for the San Francisco Orchestra and “The Improvised Violin Concerto,” which was commissioned by the Boston Youth Symphony.