artist info

“A national treasure” – Wynton Marsalis

“All Christmas music should be played so elegantly on violin" -Boston Globe

Grammy Award winning Americana, bluegrass, classical and jazz artists Mark and Maggie O’Connor will be releasing their new album A Christmas Duo this fall on OMAC Records to coincide with their annual holiday tour, An Appalachian Christmas.

Mark O’Connor, a three-time Grammy winner, is a legendary musician well-known for his instrumental virtuosity as well has his American classical compositions for Yo-Yo Ma and symphony orchestras. His wife, Maggie, a talented violinist in her own right who earned her Grammy by playing bluegrass with the O’Connor Band, plays fiddle and sings lead on the forthcoming album, while Mark adds harmonies and plays fiddle, guitar, mandolin and mandocello.

As Mark, a seven-time CMA Musician of the Year, explains, “This recording is our duo at its level best. The annual touring of my An Appalachian Christmas helped us discover on stage what this genre could really unfold artistically when we bring to the forefront all of our stringed instruments along with our vocals. We found another dimension to the music here—a spirited instrumental tour-de-force if you will. We’re getting standing ovations in the middle of the concerts, and it’s Christmas music!”

Over the course of several years, the O’Connors have compiled a new set list of Christmas songs that distinguish themselves from the perennial album they tour each year and celebrate. This set of reimagined holiday classics compliment the duo setting exquisitely.

A Christmas Duet

1) Silent Night

2) Christmas Time’s a Comin’

3) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

4) Hark! The Angels Sing

5) Hold That Tiger Rudolph

6) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

7) Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring / F.C.’s Jig

8) The Cherry Tree Carol

9) Carol of the Gypsy Bells

10) The First Noel

11) The Holly and the Ivy

12) What Child Is This?

13) It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Mark O’Connor’s An Appalachian Christmas album (2011) reached the #1 ranking on Billboard’s Bluegrass Album charts. Hailed by critics from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Los Angeles Times as a top 10 album of the holiday season, it has become a perennial classic Christmas recording.