Tulsa World: O'Connor, three others to be inducted

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O'Connor, three others to be inducted

Mark O'Connor will headline the third annual National Fiddler Hall of Fame Gala on Wednesday. Tulsa world File

By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Published: 4/28/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 4/28/2009 5:40 AM

Mark O'Connor, a performer and composer whose career has ranged from bluegrass and country to classical and jazz, will headline the third annual National Fiddler Hall of Fame Gala.

O'Connor, whose "Appalachian Waltz" album with Yo-Yo Ma and Tulsa native Edgar Meyer is one of the best-selling classical albums of all time, is one of four people who will be inducted at this year's ceremony, which will be 7 p.m. Wednesday at the VanTrease PACE on the Tulsa Community College Southeast Campus, 10300 E. 81st St.

The other inductees are:

Vassar Clements, who started out playing with bluegrass greats Bill Monroe and Jim & Jesse, was part of the landmark album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?." He worked as sideman for everyone from Miles Davis and Stephane Grappelli to the Grateful Dead and Paul McCartney.

Johnnie Lee Wills, who continued the tradition of Western Swing broadcasts on radio station KVOO in Tulsa after his brother Bob and band decamped to Hollywood, performing from the Cain's Ballroom for a quarter of a century.

Lana Hafner, organizer of the premier fiddler contest in America — the National Oldtime Fiddler's Contest that annually draws some 25,000 people to the small town of Weiser, Idaho.

In addition to the induction ceremony, O'Connor will perform a solo concert.

Tickets for the National Fiddler Hall of Fame Gala are $30 to $100. To purchase, call 595-7777 or go online to tulsaworld.com/mytix.

The National Fiddler Hall of Fame is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to promoting public interest in the art of fiddling through performance, education and preservation.

The Tulsa-based organization's projects in recent years include the creation of Oklahoma Stomp — a band of youth performing the music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys — as well as lessons, instruments and educational materials to children interested in playing the fiddle.

James D. Watts Jr. 581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer

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