Grammy-Winner Expands Music Education Method

Grammy Award-winning violinist and composer Mark O’Connor’s American school of string playing, the O’Connor Method, will continue to grow in 2015 further expanding its acclaimed mission for music education with camps at the Turtle Bay Music School (New York, NY), the South Shore Conservatory (South Boston, MA), Lee Summit High School (Kansas City, MO), and Southern Maine Community College (Portland, ME), with more expected to follow.

• June 28th-July 3rd: South Shore Conservatory (One Conservatory Drive, Hingham, MA)

• July 6th-July 10th: Southern Maine Community College (2 Fort Road, South Portland, ME 04106), hosted by the Liberty Family Foundation

• July 13th-17th: Lee Summit High School (400 SE Blue Pkwy, Lee's Summit, MO)

• August 3rd-7th: Turtle Bay Music School (244 E 52nd St, New York, NY)

With the help of trained Method instructors and his series of lesson books (the fourth of which was released this past summer for more advanced students), O’Connor’s camps now teach a wide spectrum of proficiency levels, instilling an appreciation and understanding of American musical literature, diversity, creativity and improvisation in solo, band and orchestral settings as opposed to the rote study of mostly all European Baroque pieces emphasized in alternative programs.

“The O'Connor Method has a special way of inspiring students to be creative at all levels of playing ability,” said Amanda Smith Roberts, Co-Director of the forthcoming O'Connor Method Camp at the South Shore Conservatory. “Students can easily build a community through this music.”

“Music is such a critical component of enriching the lives of our children and Mr. O’Connor’s Method encompasses all the aspects of a well-rounded string education,” said April Liberty, Director of the highly anticipated O'Connor Method Camp Maine and President of the Liberty Family Foundation.

“As the O’Connor Method for violin and strings gain in popularity, we are seeing an increasing interest in music teachers wishing to host regional summer string camps using my books for the core curriculum.” O’Connor says.

The NYC camp at Turtle Bay Music School is especially notable to O’Connor, as it marks his return to the Big Apple directing a camp for the first time in five years. “I wanted to throw my hat into the ring and personally direct the summer camp here in my hometown of New York City for next summer,” O’Connor said. “We are nurturing the joy and spirit of children becoming musical artists as the focus for us in New York City as well as all of the O’Connor Method Camps springing up around the country.”

The O’Connor Method Camps in NYC, Boston, Kansas City, and Portland will precede the fifth annual camp in Charleston July 26th-31st, initially started in 2011 in historic downtown SC. 

The impact of O’Connor’s camps is echoed by Dr. David Wallace, Chair of the String Department at Berklee College of Music, who collaborated with O’Connor during four annual summer camps at Berklee. “Mark O'Connor deeply enriched Berklee's summer programs by bringing dozens of world-class artists, producing outstanding concerts, and sharing revolutionary approaches to string pedagogy. The positive impact of Mark's camps and method will be felt, seen, and heard for decades to come.”

The fourth and final annual O’Connor Method Camp at Berklee was held this past June.

http://www.markoconnor.com/
http://www.oconnormethod.com/