Sept. 19, 2005 -- As the first event of the 2005-06 Fowler Center Concert Series, Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing will perform Monday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive.

In addition to O’Connor on violin, the group features Jon Burr on bass, Bryan Sutton and Howard Alden, both on guitar, and Roberta Gambarini on vocals. Hot Swing is a tribute to his friend and mentor, the great jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, who encouraged O’Connor to find his own sound, resulting in a unique blend of jazz, classical, county and bluegrass fiddling styles.

O’Connor’s Hot Swing released its first album as a group, “Hot Swing!,” in 2001. The live music collection brings together songs reminiscent of Grapelli’s music and the Quintette Du Hot Club era, while allowing all of the individual talents of the groups’ members. Their second album, “In Full Swing,” released in 2003, renewed the sounds of classics such as “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Misty,” and “Tiger Rag.” A new recording is set to be released later this year.

O’Connor began playing the fiddle as a young child and won his first National Junior Fiddling Championship in 1974. His first recording for the Sony Classical record label, “Appalachia Waltz,” was a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, which gained O’Connor worldwide recognition.

The follow-up album, “Appalachian Journey,” received a Grammy in 2001. Ultimately, he has released a total of 27 CDs. His music has been included on the soundtracks to “The Patriot,” “Gods and Generals,” and the PBS documentary, “Liberty!”

O’Connor’s composition “Fiddle Concerto No. 1” has become the most-performed modern violin concerto in the world with more than 150 performances to its credit. He has performed alongside such music legends as Benny Thomasson, Django Reinhardt, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony.

O’Connor has performed at the White House, Presidential Inauguration celebrations, and Atlanta’s Olympic Games, for which he composed “Olympic Reel.” He is often featured on major network television shows, and past appearances include "CBS Sunday Morning," "Great Performances" on PBS, the "Kennedy Center Honors" and America's celebration of Israel's 50th birthday televised on CBS.

Currently, O’Connor teaches master classes and has conducted symposia at many schools of music including The Juilliard School of Music, Tanglewood, Aspen, the Berklee College of Music, the University of California at Los Angeles, the Eastman
School of Music and the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.

He is founder of the internationally recognized Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp and Strings Conference in Nashville, Tenn., and San Diego. These gatherings routinely draw participants from across the United States and Canada, as well as from Europe, South America and Asia to learn numerous musical styles from world-class faculty.

Performance tickets can be purchased by calling 870-972-2781 or 1-888-278-3267, or online at http://tickets.astate.edu.

Prices are $30 and $20 for adults; $23 and $15 for ASU faculty and staff, senior adults, and K-12 students; with a special ASU student rate of $10 and $6.