Composer and virtuoso violinist Mark O’Connor has announced the live return of his critically acclaimed band Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing — O’Connor’s tribute to friend and mentor Stephane Grappelli — with a January tour.

On January 16, Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing will perform as part of the Kennedy Center’s 102nd anniversary of the birth of violinist Stephane Grappelli. The concert will close with a rousing finale featuring O’Connor’s Hot Swing with his powerhouse duo of guitarists Frank Vignola and Julian Lage, along with French guitarist Dorado Schmitt of the Django Reinhardt Festival. Together, the groups will recreate the 1930’s heyday of Reinhardt and Grappelli’s Quintet of the Hot Club of France.

The group will then tape a live session of Mountain Stage in Morgantown, WV on January 17.

Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing is just one of many projects for the prolific musician. Most recently, he has developed an innovative school of teaching violin: The O’Connor Violin Method, which focuses on American music and is the first new method of its kind in decades.

Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing also features guitarist Frank Vignola, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi (Lionel Hampton), vocalist Heather Masse (The Wailin Jennys). Guitarist Julian Lage will join the band at the Kennedy Center and Mountain Stage while guitarist Matthew Munisteri will join the tour following those performances.

Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing Tour

• Jan 16 – Washington D.C. – Kennedy Center
• Jan 17 – Morgantown, WV – West Virginia University: Creative Arts Center
• Jan 18 – Kent OH – The Kent Stage
• Jan 20 – Minneapolis, MN – The Dakota Jazz Club
• Jan 21 – Columbia, Missouri – Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts
• Jan 22 – Fayettville, AK – Starr Theater at Walton Arts Center
• Jan 23 – Kansas City, KS – Folly Theater

About Mark O’Connor

Mark O’Connor is a Grammy-winning violinist and composer who is widely recognized as one of the most gifted contemporary composers in America and one of the brightest talents of his generation. He’s studied and recorded with some of the 20th Century’s greatest musicians, including mentors Stephane Grappeli and Benny Thomasson, and colleagues Wynton Marsalis and Yo Yo Ma.

Most recently, O’Connor has developed an innovative school of teaching violin: The O’Connor Violin Method, which focuses on American music and is the first new method of its kind in decades.

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