by Chuck Stranahan, Corvallis
When I heard that 3-time Grammy Award Winner violinist, fiddler, and composer, the great Mark O’Connor, was going to perform again locally I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. I’ve been listening to Mark O’Connor for years.
Everything he plays is beyond enjoyable; simply put, his music at once amazes me and makes me feel better inside. Not many musicians do both.
As a technical virtuoso he can do things on the violin that are seemingly impossible. That should be enough – but his virtuosity is a means of musical expression that few performers on any instrument realize.
What kind of music does he play? Everything from bluegrass to country and western swing to contemporary ballads to the 1920’s gypsy jazz of Stefan Grappelli, to original orchestral or small ensemble compositions reminiscent of American composers Aaron Copeland and Charles Ives. You can’t really pigeonhole him; you can sum it all up by saying it’s all American roots music. It touches you, and it’s great.
Regardless your musical tastes, hearing the great Mark O’Connor play in a venue as acoustically perfect as our own PAC is an experience you simply don’t want to miss.
That’s before we get to the ugly specter of what we call human trafficking. There is nothing I am personally more against. The ticket proceeds from this beautiful concert go toward the fight against human trafficking here in Montana. That’s where it gets up-close and personal for me. I know kids here in the Bitterroot Valley whose lives have been affected – some near-misses, and one beautiful young girl who was being pursued and simply disappeared.
Your presence at the PAC on Friday the 20th will give you an experience you’ll treasure for a long time, and is nothing short of the right thing to do. Tickets are available at Bitterrootperformingarts.org or call 406-363-7946.
Let’s pack the place out.