Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Cleveland.com: Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins & Cellist Patrice Jackson in O'Connor String Quartet, Cleveland Museum of Art, 7:30 PM Wed., Oct. 30

The O'Connor String Quartet, from left: Patrice Jackson, cello; Gillian Gallagher, viola; Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violin; and Mark O'Connor, violin. The group appears Wednesday on the Cleveland Museum of Art's Performing Arts Series. (Columbia Artists Management) [The Plain Dealer]

Zachary Lewis
Oct. 23, revised Oct. 28, 2013

Seven years ago, at the auditions for what is now the O’Connor String Quartet, Mark O’Connor recalls being impressed by the response.
Assuming few would be willing or able to play his music, a blend of folk and classical traditions, he was stunned to find many who were not only intrigued by his art but experienced in it as well.
“There were many who were interested in that approach, many more than I would have imagined,” said O’Connor by phone from his home in New York, adding that those he hired came pre-loaded with a “natural proclivity” for it.
A similar phenomenon is likely in store for Wednesday, when the O’Connor Quartet appears on the Performing Arts Series at the Cleveland Museum of Art. On that occasion, O’Connor and friends – violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violist Gillian Gallagher and cellist Patrice Jackson – may again be surprised by the number of people with whom his music resonates.

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