Ep. 92: Mark O'Connor
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Mark O\'Connor\\xa0began his creative journey at the feet of American fiddling legend Benny Thomasson, and the iconic French jazz violinist St\\xe9phane Grappelli. Now, at age 55, he has melded these influences into a new American classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of String Playing. Mr. O\\u2019Connor has won three Grammys, seven CMA awards as well as several national fiddle, guitar and mandolin champion titles. His distinguished career includes representing the United States Information Agency in cultural diplomacy to six continents and performing in front of several U.S. presidents including being invited to the White House by President Ronald Reagan to perform as a teen.
In this podcast we talk about O\'Connor\'s groundbreaking violin concertos, passion for education through the O\'Connor Method, collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, his mentors, American string playing and much more. Fascinating conversation with visionary whose approach to music and education has brought millions of people to the world of classical music and beyond.