We have even more exciting news for the fans, friends and clients of Perfect Music for Weddings: the artistic director and feature violinist, fiddler and composer for Perfect Music for Weddings (and member of the Silver Mountain Fiddle Band and the Sparrow Lane String Quartet), Chris Murphy, recently attended highly critically acclaimed violinist and fiddler Mark O’Conner’s performance at UCLA. He was fortunate enough to meet with Mark and discuss violin music and fiddle music. The two musical Renaissance men met and discussed Classical, Jazz, Folk and Bluegrass music. We at Perfect Music for Weddings were very excited about this, as Mark O’Connor is one of the most acclaimed violinists and fiddlers in the world. His music encompasses and adeptly blends the Classical, Jazz, Folk and Bluegrass genres and his talents as a violinist and fiddler are world renowned. In fact, remarking on his composition “The Appalachian Waltz” former president Bill Clinton stated enthusiastically that it was “one of the most important pieces of American music in many, many years, uniting the strains of classical music with American hill country music, which is an important part of my heritage.”

Mark O’Connor won the National Junior Fiddling Championship in 1974. He studied under Texas fiddle musician Benny Thomasson and Jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. O’Connor has won two Grammy awards. His first was for his album, “New Nashville Cats”, and his second was for his album “Appalachian Journey”, on which he worked with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer. O’Connor was also named “Musician of the Year” by the Country Music Association for six years in a row, from 1991 to 1996. Since then, he has continued to compose, arrange, and record a variety of music, from Classical and Jazz to Country and Bluegrass. O’Connor has composed six violin concertos, and arranged string trios and string quartets, as well as choral works and a Symphony. He has worked and recorded with a wide variety of artists, including James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, and Wynton Marsalis.

The most exciting part of Chris Murphy meeting with Mark O’Connor is their similar interests in musical genres and their performance styles. Chris’ independent work and his performances with the Sparrow Lane String Quartet and the Silver Mountain Fiddle Band, in particular, bridge the genres of Classical, Jazz, Country and Bluegrass. We hope that both musicians were able to take away some valuable knowledge from their meeting. Below, you can see a photo of Chris Murphy’s meeting with Mark O’Connor: