He is a fiddler, guitarist, mandolin player, arranger,
composer and teacher born in Seattle, Washington.Beginning to play guitar when he was 6 years old he
moved to the fiddle when he was 11 and his teenage years saw him entering
and winning many competitions and becoming a sideman for Stephane Grappelli,
which saw him performing at Carnegie Hall among other acclaimed
venues.In 1983 he relocated
to Nashville and after a couple of years of making his name known he performed
on the recording "High Horse" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.This set him on his way and has led
to him working as a much sought after session musician and also releasing
many solo albums such as Soppin' the Gravy, Heroes, On the Rampage,
Thirty Year Retrospective and Midnight on the Water and winning
two Grammy Awards for his New Nashville Cats and Appalachian
Journey where he collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Mayer. He now has his own record label,
OMAC. His compositions have also
much recognition and include his "Appalachia Waltz", "Song of the Liberty
Bell", "Call of the Mockingbird", "Olympic Reel" and "Butterfly's Day Out",
a symphony, string quartets, trios, choral and solo works, concertos, with
his most popular being his "Fiddle Concerto No. 1", and also music for TV
and film soundtracks such as The Night Before Christmas, Johnny
Appleseed and Liberty! The American Revolution. Working with many artists throughout
his career he has been heard performing and/or recording with Alabama, Chet
Atkins, Clint Black, Jimmy Buffett, Glen Campbell, Kim Carnes, Mary-Chapin Carpenter,
Carlene Carter, Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Neil Diamond, Steve Earle, Bela
Fleck, Renee Fleming, Art Garfunkel, Gloriae des Cantores, Vern Gosdin, Amy
Grant, Emmylou Harris, John Hartford, Bruce Hornsby, Waylon Jennings, George
Jones, Mark Knopfler, Alison Krauss, London Philharmonic, Lyle Lovett, Wynton
Marsalis, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Olivia Newton John, The Oak Ridge Boys, Marie Osmond, Dolly Parton,
Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, David Schnaufer, Earl
Scruggs, Dan Seals, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, James
Taylor, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Ricky Van Shelton, Tanya
Tucker, Hank Williams Jr. and Tammy Wynette Every year he plays host to the Strings Conference in San
Diego, California, and the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp in Tennessee.In the world of musical education
he is often seen taking masterclasses and holding symposiums at venues such
as the Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School of Music and Tanglewood
and also promotes outreach musical education with Midori and Friends, Music
for Life Alliance, Opus 118 and Sphinx.In recognition for his contribution to music the Country
Music Association named him Musician of the Year every year from 1991 to
1996.
