Biography
A family ensemble steeped in bluegrass and country heritage, The O'Connor Band includes one of the generation's foremost instrumentalists. Mark O'Connor assembled the lineup; this master violinist has traversed country, bluegrass, jazz, and classical domains via collaborations with Stéphane Grappelli, David Grisman, Béla Fleck, Emmylou Harris, Itzhak Perlman, Chet Atkins, Yo-Yo Ma, and many additional artists. In 2014 Mark married Maggie O'Connor, née Maggie Dixon, a skilled violinist who took up the instrument at age seven and trained with Herbert Greenberg at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a Masters of Music degree in violin performance. Maggie soon partnered with Mark for live performances and they issued the 2015 album Duo. Mark's son from an earlier marriage, Forrest O'Connor, briefly explored mandolin and guitar before entering Harvard to study business. He kept up mandolin playing as a pastime during school breaks. After a stint at a tech startup, Forrest moved back to Nashville in 2014 to pursue music professionally. He confirmed his ability by claiming the Tennessee State Mandolin Championship months after leaving Massachusetts. He arrived with fiancée Kate Lee, another accomplished musician who had played fiddle and sung since age twelve. Her credits include touring work with country artists Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, and Lady Antebellum, plus songwriting sessions with Pat Alger. Forrest and Kate had already been appearing as a duo when Forrest received an invitation to perform with his father and stepmother; Kate came along. Guitarist Joe Smart and bassist Geoff Saunders were added to round out the sound. The resulting mixture of bluegrass, folk, country, and pop elements took the group onto major bluegrass festival stages in 2015, followed by the release of their debut album, Coming Home, on Rounder Records the following year.
Albums
