October 27, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Violinist Mark O’Connor, known for his eclectic virtuosity and versatility, recreates 1930s Paris and its “Hot Club” jazz in a tribute to his mentor, the late French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, in a special performance presented by the Oregon Symphony on Friday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The Oregon Symphony does not perform. Media support is provided by KINKfm102.
O’Connor’s musical career defies easy categorization. The Los Angeles Times notes, “He has crossed over so many boundaries that his style is purely personal.” O’Connor’s musical pursuits and influences range from country fiddling to jazz to classical music and beyond, and the breathtaking ease with which he transcends genre has won him fans from many diverse musical circles, including classical, country, jazz, bluegrass and Celtic. O’Connor’s folk roots are apparent in his ground-breaking Fiddle Concerto No. 1, which made his U. S. reputation in classical circles, and his compositions are refashioning the landscape of the contemporary American classical scene. Musicians of worldwide stature, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (who performed with O’Connor in the premiere of his Double Concerto for Two Violins with the Chicago Symphony in 2000), and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis have all performed O’Connor’s music in recent years. Upcoming projects include a commission by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields to write a concerto for violin and orchestra, which will be premiered at the BBC Proms concerts in London next summer. O’Connor last appeared in Portland in March 1999 when he played his Second Fiddle Concerto with the Oregon Symphony.
O’Connor’s recent concert appearances with bassist Jon Burr and guitarist Frank Vignola to promote his 2001 CD release “Hot Swing!” which features the music of Grappelli and his celebrated partnership with the Belgian Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, included three sold-out nights at Jazz@Lincoln Center in New York. In his review of the concert, Variety critic Robert L. Daniels notes, “Mark O’Connor, a disciple and protégé of the late Parisian jazz fiddler Stephane Grappelli, keeps the flame alive, playing the music of the legendary Hot Club of France and re-creating the master’s pliant bite…Violinist O’Connor demonstrated the fluidity and blithe buoyant improvisational technique that marked Grappelli’s stunning seven-decade career.”
Tickets range in price from $28 to $72 and may be purchased at the Oregon
Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at
503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all
Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via
the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.
Violinist/composer/fiddler Mark O’Connor is widely recognized as one of the most gifted contemporary composers in America and surely one of the brightest talents of his generation.
A product of America’s rich aural folk tradition, Mr. O’Connor’s journey began at the feet of violin masters Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson and French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. Along the way, between these two marvelous musical extremes, Mark O’Connor absorbed knowledge and influence from a multitude of musical styles and genres. Now, at age 41, he has melded and shaped these influences into a new American classical music. The Los Angeles Times warmly noted he has “crossed over so many boundaries, that his style is purely personal.”
His first recording for the Sony Classical record label, “Appalachia Waltz,” was a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and doublebassist Edgar Meyer. The works Mr. O’Connor composed for the disc, including its title track, gained worldwide recognition for him as a leading proponent of a new American musical idiom. The tremendously successful follow-up release, “Appalachian Journey,” received a Grammy Award in February 2001.
Viewing Mark O’Connor as a direct cultural descendant of America’s 18th century musicians, the producers of the six part PBS documentary on the American Revolution approached Mark O’Connor to contribute music to their longform work. An album of the music he created, “Liberty!,” was released on the Sony Classical label in 1997 and features Mr. O’Connor’s arrangements of a variety of traditional American music and expansive original orchestral works. Both Yo Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis appear as guests on the album.
In 2000, composer John Williams also called on his expertise and knowledge of the period to contribute solo instrumentalist talents to the Oscar-nominated score of “The Patriot.”
“Midnight on the Water,” a live recording of his solo recital, was released in 1998. It was the album long awaited by legions that have followed Mr. O’Connor’s 28 year career and is regarded by many as a definitive career work firmly solidified his place as one of America’s premier musical artists. The CD includes Mr. O’Connor’s “Caprices 1 6,” increasingly gaining reputation as classic works of the modern violin repertoire. In its review of the disc, Fanfare Magazine praised his ability “to dazzle listeners with things both new and personal,” noting that “O’Connor’s creative effort...deserves special mention and serious discussion, if not special praise.”
With more than 150 performances, Mr. O’Connor’s Fiddle Concerto No. 1 has become the most performed modern violin concerto.
“Fanfare for the Volunteer,” recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Steven Mercurio, was released by Sony Classical in October 1999. At its release, Melinda Bargreen, the Seattle Times’ respected classical music critic, described the composition as, “O’Connor’s strongest work thus far,” calling it “distinctively American and decidedly O’Connor...”
In April 2000, Mr. O’Connor premiered his newest orchestral commission, “The American Seasons: Seasons of an American Life,” at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y. Commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the hall’s concert series, the New York Times praised the work and O’Connor’s performance with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, describing it as “wholly listenable, buoyed by its jazzy rhythms and by Mr. O’Connor’s unstoppable melodic gift.” “The American Seasons” was recorded with Metamorphosen and released on the Sony Classical label in the fall of 2001.
Following the work’s release, a 28-city national tour with Metamorphosen earned universally spectacular reviews. The New York Times said, “... if Dvorák had spent his American leisure time in Nashville instead of Spillville, Iowa, ‘New World Symphony’ might have sounded like this.” Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe called the work “concise, lyrical and irresistibly rhythmic.” Wayne Gay of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said, “’The American Seasons’ is destined to rank among the greatest masterpieces of American music...the first musical masterpiece of the 21st century.” The work was nationally broadcast New Year’s Day 2002 on PBS stations, paired with Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”
In June 2001, Mr. O’Connor released “Hot Swing!,” a tribute to his great friend and mentor, the legendary French jazz master, Stephane Grappelli. Released on his own OMAC label, the CD was recorded live with Jon Burr on bass and Frank Vignola on guitar. The critical acclaim was unanimous and immediate. The Chicago Tribune called it “one of the finest discs of his career and one of the greatest jazz violin albums ever.” Mr. O’Connor’s “Hot Swing” trio performs in concerts throughout the United States, and in February 2002 played three sold-out nights at Jazz@Lincoln Center in New York.
In recent years, as word of his considerable writing talents have spread, Mark O’Connor’s compositions are being embraced by a variety of performers. Yo-Yo Ma has recorded the solo cello version of “Appalachia Waltz” and frequently performs it in recital. Dance troupes, including Twyla Tharp, the New York City Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, are constantly discovering Mr. O’Connor’s expressive American music.
In 2001, Mr. O’Connor was commissioned by the Academy of St. Martin the Fields to create a concerto for violin and orchestra that will be given its world premiere at BBC Proms in London in August 2003; he will subsequently perform the work with the Academy on a tour of the United States in fall 2004.
In August 2000, Mr. O’Connor premiered his composition, “Double Concerto for Two Violins,” with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Chicago Symphony with Christoph Eschenbach conducting. In 2001, Mr. O’Connor and Ms. Sonnenberg performed the “Double Concerto” with the Philadelphia Orchestra and at the Aspen Music Festival to great critical acclaim. Shortly thereafter, Mr. O’Connor was asked by Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun to travel to Stuttgart perform the premier of his “St. Matthew’s Passion,” a work commissioned by the International Bach Academy to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.
Mark O’Connor has appeared at The White House, the Presidential Inauguration Celebration and the ceremonies of Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Games for which he composed “Olympic Reel.” He is often featured on major network television shows, and past appearances include “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Great Performances” on PBS, the “Kennedy Center Honors” and America’s celebration of Israel’s 50th birthday televised on CBS.
The recipient of numerous commissioning grants, including “Meet the Composer,” in 1998, he received a commission from the McKim Fund of Library of Congress for a new violin sonata premiered in that year at the Library and broadcast on National Public Radio. Mr. O’Connor regularly teaches master classes and has conducted symposia at many schools of music including The Juilliard School of Music, Tanglewood, Aspen, the Berklee College of Music, UCLA, the Eastman School of Music and the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. Mark generously donates his time in support of a number of organizations that promote music education and outreach, including Opus 118, Midori and Friends, Sphinx, Arts4All and the Music For Life Alliance. He also serves on the advisory panel for the selection of the Kennedy Center Honors. In May 2002, he delivered the commencement address and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree from The Sage Colleges in Troy/Albany, N.Y. for his many contributions to music and the cause of music education.
Mr. O’Connor is founder of the internationally recognized Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp and Fiddle Conference. At the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp near Nashville, Tennessee and the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Conference near San Diego, California, Mr. O’Connor assembles a world class faculty to teach in a number of musical styles. These fiddle gatherings routinely draw participants from across the U.S. and Canada, as well as from Europe, South America and Asia.
Mr. O’Connor now resides in San Diego, Calif. with his wife and two children.
Bassist Jon Burr has toured and recorded with many great jazz masters, including Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Horace Silver, Hank Jones, Art Farmer, Stephane Grappelli, Sir Roland Hanna, Dorothy Donegan, and Buddy Rich. From 1980 - 1985 he toured with Tony Bennett; he has also worked with Lainie Kazan, Barbara Cook, Eartha Kitt, David Campbell, and Debbie Gravitte among others. Acclaimed by critics for his technical mastery and his subtle, elegant artistry, Burr formed his own quartet in 1991.
The Jon Burr Quartet has performed widely in New York clubs such as Birdland and the Blue Note, specializing in Burr’s own compositions. The quartet recorded their first album in April 1993, which was issued February 1996 by Cymekob Records under the title “In My Own Words.” This recording has been well received by critics. This was followed by the release of a second recording called “3 for All,” featuring Sir Roland Hanna and Bucky Pizzarelli, and led by Jon, also issued by Cymekob, on June 25, 1996. This release was edited and mastered by Jon at jbQ, a studio he started in 1996.
Jon Burr has provided party music for dozens of functions in the New York area, including weddings and corporate parties. The band has an elegant approach, playing standards by composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Richard Rogers, and many others, with a sensibility reminiscent of the great Miles Davis Quintets of the sixties. Burr was born in Huntington, Long Island and studied at Berklee College of Music and the University of Illinois. He lives in New York City with his wife Kelle Kerr and their daughter Tyler Elizabeth.
Frank Vignola is considered to be among the top rank of guitarists on the music scene today. Born on Long Island, New York, he began playing guitar at age five. As his proficiency grew, he spent many hours listening to the music of Joe Pass and Django Reinhardt. He made an intricate study of the complexities of these two masters’ styles, slowing down their records to analyze many a solo.
Frank's first teacher was his father, a semi-professional banjo player. Later, Frank became the star pupil of guitarist Jimmy George, who was one of the original Dion and the Belmonts. At age twelve, Frank took up the banjo and swiftly burst upon the music scene in a way that would portend many of the accolades and milestones to come in his career as a jazz guitarist.
Though obviously steeped in the traditional schools of jazz, especially in his formative years, Frank would eventually take inspiration from a wide arc of the musical spectrum. Guitarists such as Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Pat Methany are obvious influences, but one might be surprised to learn that rocker Eddie Van Halen and bluesman Eric Clapton received the close scrutiny of Frank's ear. Bill Evans, Thelonius Monk, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Charlie Parker, Sonny Sitt, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington have all had inspirational impact on Frank's music.
While still in his teens, Frank experienced the most effective music education possible, right on the bandstand as a working musician. Soon named among the top ranked musicians in New York, Frank performed, recorded, and/or toured with such headliners as Max Morath and Leon Redbone. Tours of Europe, recording sessions, and an exclusive recording contract with the Concord Label would all follow in short succession in a few short years. Frank would perform and/or record with such varied artists as Chet Atkins, Madonna, Jon Faddis and the Carnegie Hall jazzband, Woody Allen, Ringo Starr, Manhattan Transfer, Les Paul, Boston Pops Orchestra, New York Pops, Lionel Hampton, Elvin Jones, and countless legends from the golden era of jazz.
Having recorded under his own name with such artists as David Grisman, Billy Mitchell, Junior Mance, Ken Peplowski, and Arnie Lawrence, and having toured the U.S., Europe and Japan, Frank has established his standing among the elite of jazz guitarists.