Tune In: Contemporary Music Master Mark O'Connor On NPR's "All Things Considered" Today, 3/20

Mark O'Connor -- the composer and violinist whose fluency with both classical and American traditions has made him one of the most acclaimed figures in contemporary music -- will be featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" today, Friday, March 20th, discussing his debut symphony, "Americana Symphony: Variations on Appalachia Waltz." The segment is currently scheduled to air at 4:50 EDT. 

This piece is just the latest major story on O'Connor, who has been the subject of expansive profiles by The Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press in the past week or so. You can find both of those profiles below. The LAT calls O'Connor's work "unrepentantly tonal, accessibly melodic and sonically spacious as a great Elmer Bernstein film score." But let's end with another quote from the LAT story, this one from Juilliard instructor David Wallace:

"What Mark and a few other people are doing is hearkening back to an older definition of what it means to be a well-rounded musician . . . To be a musician in Bach and Haydn and Mozart's day meant you were fluent in multiple instruments, fluent in multiple national styles. They were also able to improvise, ornament and embellish and they were trained in composition and theory. In a way, what's starting to happen now is that all these elements are being brought back."

LA Times Feature:
http://tinyurl.com/MOCLAT 

Associated Press Feature:
http://tinyurl.com/dx4teu

About Mark O'Connor

Mark O’Connor is a composer and violinist whose fluency with both classical and American traditions has made him one of the most acclaimed figures in contemporary music. A true natural talent, Mark O’Connor began performing and touring at only 12 years old. O’Connor is the artist in residence at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, and is on tour throughout the fall and winter. OMAC is O’Connor’s own label, distributed through Allegro and IODA.

For information on Mark O'Connor bookings, ensembles, repertoire, sheet music, CD's, string camps and educational materials, please go towww.markoconnor.com
 
For more information on Mark O’Connor, please contact Nick Baily (nbaily@shorefire.com) or Matthew Amoroso [mamoroso@shorefire.com] at Shore Fire Media, 718-522-7171