A violin virtuoso recalls fiddling around at Expo ‘74 and winning competitions in Spokane a half-century ago

The holiday season is synonymous with memories. Winning and warmth come to mind when Mark O’Connor returns to Spokane. When the violin virtuoso conjures images of the Lilac City he can’t help but recall dominating the Northwest Regional Fiddle Championship during the mid ‘70s.

“I won that competition four times,” O’Connor said while calling from Minneapolis. “It was an old-time fiddle competition that I always looked forward to. Spokane was a real hot bed of fiddling during the ‘70s. The folks in Spokane have been so kind to me ever since I was a child.”

O’Connor, 61, who will return Wednesday to the Fox Theater for his Appalachian Christmas show, has led such a fascinating life that he penned his memoir, “Crossing Bridges,” during the pandemic. The book will hit shelves in February.

O’Connor hit a crossroads at 12 while growing up in suburban Seattle. O’Connor’s father expected the prodigy to assist him in the family business. “My dad worked in a lumber yard and would work on fixing foundations of houses after work at 4 o’clock,” O’Connor said. “He would work underneath homes and deal with snakes and rats. He wanted me to be free child labor like he was when he was growing up in Montana. But I didn’t want any part of that. That inspired me to practice as much as I could.”

O’Connor’s devotion paid off and it became obvious to his father that his son should focus on music. O’Connor won $400 each time he was crowned victor of the Northwest Regional in Spokane. O’Connor scored $1,200 for winning a fiddle competition in Weiser, Idaho. The prepubescent became the family breadwinner since his father cleared $300 a month.

“My dad couldn’t help but be impressed,” O’Connor said. “He ended up supporting my passion.”

However, not everybody was so thrilled by O’Connor’s success. Shortly after the Seattle Times published a feature about the pre-teen’s achievements, a gang of middle schoolers pummeled O’Connor, who missed the last three months of eighth grade due to injury.

The determined virtuoso made the best of a terrible situation. “Thanks to being written up as a prodigy in the paper, I was in a leg brace for two months after the beat down,” O’Connor said. “Because of the injuries I was practicing 10 hours a day with my leg in a cast. I practiced the fiddle and learned the guitar, the banjo, the mandolin and the dobro.”

By the following summer, O’Connor was performing at Expo ‘74 in Spokane with then local favorites Custer’s Grass Band.

“I’ll never forget the Expo and what Spokane was like then,” O’Connor said. “It was the place to be in America in 1974 and there I was with Custer’s Grass Band, which was this progressive bluegrass band. I remember being in the studio with them and learning so much from their bassist Dave Hackwith”

Custer’s Grass Band banjo player Bob Asbury recalls being blown away by O’Connor. “Mark was just this little kid when we first met him when he was about 11 and he was just amazing,” Asbury said while calling from Nashville. “It was obvious how gifted Mark was at a young age. We struck up a friendship with him and played with Mark when we were out in Seattle and he would play with us whenever he was in Eastern Washington. I remember how much he dominated competitions. I remember when he won the National Junior Fiddle Championship. Mark was such a fantastic musician at such a young age and he’s tremendous now, of course.”

O’Connor, who now lives in North Carolina, has enjoyed an unparalleled career. O’Connor is incredibly versatile as a musician, who is a master at most stringed instruments. O’Connor also enjoys jumping from bluegrass to country to jazz to classical.

“It’s all music to me,” O’Connor said. “I just love all styles of music.”

O’Connor’s gifts have attracted a who’s who of musicians to the studio. Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Alison Krauss and Edgar Meyer have recorded with O’Connor. “I’m just very fortunate,” O’Connor said. “It’s been incredible how many truly gifted musicians I’ve played with.”

O’Connor shares the studio and stage with his wife of eight years, fellow fiddler Maggie O’Connor, who he has been working with since recording 2015’s “Duo.”

The O’Connors will showcase “An Appalachian Christmas” at the Fox featuring traditional holiday songs such as “O Christmas Tree,’ “Ol’ Blue” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

About “90 percent of the concert will be Christmas music,” O’ Connor said. “I can’t believe it’s been a dozen years since the Appalachian Christmas album came out, I love the material. Many of the songs from the album I played when I was a child. There’s nothing like Christmas music.”

There’s also nothing like returning to Spokane for O’Connor.

“I performed in Spokane so many times and it’s great to come back since all of those memories hit me,” O’Connor said. “It amazes me how much the city has changed but the fans haven’t changed at all. They always make me feel at home.”

O’Connor enjoys returning to his home state and will be back next year when he returns to support his forthcoming album, “Life After Life.”

“It’s filled with all original songs and it’s all vocal music written for my wife to sing lead and for me to provide the harmonies,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor expects to perform in Spokane and Seattle in 2023. The last time he lived in Mountlake Terrace, O’Connor experienced closure with the group of boys who pummelled him.

“During my senior year of high school I established a music program that was very popular,” O’Connor recalled. “It was so successful that even some dropouts came back to school for it. In the back of the room were a bunch of the guys who beat me up in middle school. They really appreciated what was being taught.”

There was no dialogue between O’Connor and the jealous thugs, who sent him to the hospital. “We didn’t say anything to each other,” O’Connor said. “We didn’t have to speak. The music spoke for us. That’s how powerful music is and that experience was an example of how music can be used as a force for good. And music makes us feel good, particularly during this time of year. Christmas music is incredibly uplifting and it feels so good to play these songs that trigger so many memories.”