Violinist Maggie O’Connor is a Grammy Award-winning musician who frequently performs with her husband, violinist and composer Mark O’Connor. Trained in both traditional classical violin and American roots music styles, she believes that violinists can and should participate in everything the instrument offers.
She has regularly performed at the Grand Ole Opry with Mark O’Connor in both band and duo configurations. In the classical world, the duo has performed worldwide, including the Leopold Auer Music Academy in Hungary and the Berlin Konzerthaus to celebrate the centennial birthday of the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin. They have appeared with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Walla Walla Symphony, the Nashville Symphony and many others, performing Mark’s compositions such as Strings and Threads Suite, Double Violin Concerto and Johnny Appleseed Suite. Along with the Mark O’Connor Band, she has also performed in her husband’s projects ranging from “Hot Swing” and “American Classics” to “An Appalachian Christmas,” the hit annual holiday-themed concert tour.
Growing up in a musical family in the Atlanta suburbs, she started playing the violin at age 7 in a family band. Concurrently, she took classical violin lessons with Larisa Morgulis, a distinguished graduate of the Odessa Conservatory in Ukraine. With her family band, she began to develop an ear for arranging, recording, group playing and improvisation, skills that she has embraced throughout her musical life. In her early years, she was a member of bluegrass and rock bands while also serving as a member of and soloist with Atlanta’s top three youth orchestras.
She continued her professional training at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with violinist Herbert Greenberg, and earned bachelor’s and masters degrees in violin performance. She was also a finalist in the Marbury Prize Competition for undergraduate violinists while completing her bachelor’s degree with distinction. She also was accepted into Peabody’s five-year advanced degree program and received a career development grant. She was awarded full-tuition scholarships while at the Aspen Music Festival and School for three years.
Maggie resides in Charlotte, N.C., with her husband and plays a hand-crafted 1996 violin made by Lukas Wronski.
