Grammy Award-winning fiddle player and composer Mark O’Connor, who will perform a three-night holiday residency with his wife, Maggie O’Connor, beginning Nov. 20 at the Egyptian Theatre, loves Christmas.
“It has always been a musical time for me and brings back interesting components of my childhood,” he said.
At that time, the O’Connor family didn’t have much under the Christmas tree for several years, O’Connor said.
“But when I started getting into music, my mom had saved up money to purchase record albums for me to not just enjoy, but to learn from and be inspired by — whether they were fiddle, bluegrass or jazz albums,” he said. “She would often order them from a catalogue in September but often wait to put them under the tree.”
By the time Christmas morning rolled around, O’Connor found a trove of music.
“I could tell from the wrapping because you really can’t disguise vinyl albums that were all 12-inches square and very thin,” he said with a laugh. “Once I opened one, it would automatically go onto my parents’ turntable.”
The holiday break from school was also a time of music making, especially for a budding musician who would compete at festivals during the summer, O’Connor said.
“During the school year, I would go weeks and even months without playing, so when Christmastime came around, all the local musicians from the area would come by and we would jam,” he said. “So the idea of playing American music with other musicians during Christmas is such a profound memory.”
O’Connor hopes his and Maggie’s stop at the Egyptian Theatre will create more memories for audience members.
“We are commencing with our tour next week, so we’ve got a few November dates this year,” he said. “Usually we start around Thanksgiving, but we’re starting earlier, and this is one of the biggest tours for the two of us.”
Although O’Connor has been taking his “An Appalachian Christmas” tour to fans throughout the country for nearly 15 years, the intimate show he performs with Maggie has only been around for three.
“It’s been fantastic, and we’ve developed it into our duo persona, which reflects our ‘Life After Life’ album release and our first album together, ‘Duo,’ which features violin pieces,” he said. “We’ve kind of morphed the ideas of bringing two fiddles and our singing together and created a whole Christmas show that has gotten better each year.”
To celebrate, the two musicians on Friday released a live album called “A Christmas Duo.”
The O’Connors recorded the album live at the historic Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, nearly a year ago.
“It’s a historic hall that was built in the early 1900s, and the music sounds incredible there,” said O’Connor who has a history with the venue. “I hadn’t played there in many years, but 30 years ago, I had recorded one of my albums, ‘Midnight on the Water,’ for the Sony Classical label, there.”
When the O’Connors walked into the hall last year, Mark ran into a familiar face.
“The house engineer remembered assisting on recording the album with me,” he said. “He was still there running the house sound.”
After catching up, O’Connor asked the engineer if they could record the show that night.
“We decided to record the album a couple of hours before we started performing,” O’Connor said with a laugh. “But it was near the end of the tour, so we were really warmed up. Everything went incredibly well, and the capacity audience was electric.”
At that point, O’Connor still didn’t know if the recording would become an album.
“I just wanted to be sure I recorded something from the tour,” he said.
When O’Connor got home, he began poring over the tape.
“I couldn’t believe the performance we got, and I kept listening,” he said. “There were a couple of songs that I thought weren’t our best, but the next one would be great, and the next one and next one. All of a sudden I had 13 keepers, and I knew we had to release it as an album.”
Last year’s tour also marked Maggie’s 10th anniversary touring with O’Connor.
“When I first started the tours, I basically put together a bluegrass band together,” he said. “I started to invite some guest musicians and family members, including my son.”
O’Connor met Maggie in the spring of 2014, and the two were married Nov. 8 that year.
“The Christmas tour began a few weeks later, and I told her she needed to join us on stage for a few songs,” he said. “That’s how it all began, and here we are doing this Christmas Music as a duo.”
The duo’s shows wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for O’Connor’s perennial hit album, “An Appalachian Christmas,” that was released in 2011.
“There was something about the (holiday) music that emanated from the fiddle that captured the imagination of listeners and journalists and critics,” he said. “It also touched on all the Americana styles that I became known for — American classical, jazz, swing and old-time bluegrass — different acoustic sounds I could produce from the instrument. And Christmas music was the strong theme that held it all together to where it resonated with a lot of people to this day.”
One of O’Connor’s favorite Christmas songs is “The Holly and the Ivy,” which happens to be the lead single off of “A Christmas Duo.”
“It’s been reimagined in a little bluegrass style, but it still has that angelic feeling it’s well-known for,” he said.
The song was added to Spotify’s New Music Holiday Playlist a few weeks ago and was featured at No. 30.
“It really resonated with some folks because it’s right alongside pop artists like the Jonas Brothers and Ke$ha,” O’Connor said. “What are the chances of that happening?”
O’Connor looks forward to performing that song among others with Maggie at the Egyptian Theatre.
“We get to play beautiful Christmas music together, and from my standpoint, what’s better than a fiddle playing Christmas music than two fiddles playing Christmas music?” he said. “That’s how we start the show. Then we begin singing, and I’ll start picking up my guitar and mandolin.”
O’Connor is overjoyed to see families attending these concerts, especially because he and Maggie are strong supporters of music education, as put forth in a system called the O’Connor Method.
“The idea of a gift of music for a child today can be very important,” he said. “In tougher economic times that many are experiencing right now, there is something about supporting children’s access to music that can make up for those differences. So, we remind parents and grandparents during our concert that if they are struggling over what to get their child or grandchild for Christmas they might consider music lessons or an inexpensive instrument.”
Music gives the kids a different relevance to our lives, living in America, especially during the holidays, according to O’Connor.
“I gave one of my kids a bicycle last year, and she hardly ever rides it,” he said with a laugh. “But, she’s playing music. She recently showed me something on the guitar that she learned from TikTok.”
Mark O’Connor’s ‘An Appalachian Christmas’ with Maggie O’Connor
- When: 8 p.m., Nov. 20-22
- Where: Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St.
- Cost: $49-$79
- Phone: 855-754-SHOW
- Web: parkcityshows.com and markandmaggieoconnor.com