BEMIDJI — Music can bring people together from around the world. That’s exactly what happened with Irish pianist John O’Conor and American violinist Eric Olson.
In an interview with KAXE producer Andrew Dziengel, O’Conor said it began with a recital with a friend, an Irish violinist based in Minneapolis. While there, O’Conor met Olson who invited him to play in Bemidji. "I not only met him, but I met his family too, and we had a fantastic night together.”
And it was like the Third World War took place in my house because my mother was so completely against my doing music.John O'Conor
It was a meaningful connection. “You know when you meet somebody and you would click with them, then you'd say let's make more music together.”
O’Conor will be performing both Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Thompson Recital Hall in the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex at Bemidji State University. The Friday show will be a solo recital, and the Saturday will be a duo recital with O’Connor on piano and Olson playing violin.
Friday night’s performance will feature works by Haydn, Schubert, Field, Scriabin, and Beethoven. Saturday will feature pieces by Beethoven and Brahms.
O’Conor says selecting the pieces was quite simple. “He wants to play those two pieces, so I said fine, and I said I want to play these pieces, and he said fine.”
O’Conor and Olson had similar trajectories in careers in music. O’Conor was the fourth child, and while he dabbled in both drama and playing piano, it was piano that he stuck with. “One piano teacher after another always made it fun... I enjoyed my piano lessons from the very beginning, and I was sort of good at it,” he said.
He took part in piano competitions around Ireland and won prizes. When it came time for secondary school he had to decide what he was going to focus on, and music was on the forefront.
“And it was like the Third World War took place in my house because my mother was so completely against my doing music,” O’Conor remembered.
His uncle had an accounting firm, and the family had planned for him to take over it as he got older. “But I stuck to my guns, and I said, ‘yes, I have to do music.’”
His mother refused to pay for his college fees, so O’Conor played for every singer, violinist, or cellist to make enough money. After graduating, he began a teaching job in Dublin, then found a scholarship to study in Vienna for two years. While there, he received first place in an international competition.
O’Conor said, “I remember saying to my wife, ‘What do I do now?’. She said ‘Well, I refuse to answer that on the basis that you will blame me for whatever answer I give for the next 50 years. So, you have to decide what you want to do.’ And I said, ‘Well, I better give it a go to see if I can make a career.’ And she said, ‘OK, we haven't starved yet, so I'll keep working and you keep practicing.’ I started from there and it got better and better.”
For Olson, the path to becoming a professional musician started differently. Olson’s parents are both professional musicians. When he was in elementary school, he was given the option to play violin, viola or cello by the orchestra director. He picked up the violin and never went back.
He worked hard in high school and went to college at Michigan State University. There, he decided he wanted to make music for his career. His parents were a little cautious since they knew what the business was like, but they supported him, despite the challenges.
“It's always been worth it,” said Olson. “I went to University of Minnesota for my doctorate work and decided that if I didn't get into study with Sally O'Reilly at the University of Minnesota, I was going to figure something else out with my life. Fortunately, I did, and the rest is kind of history.”
When asked if they get time to play for enjoyment, O’Conor and Olson gave different answers. O’Conor will play pieces he doesn’t normally get to play. “We're lucky that we are playing instruments that have a huge repertoire. So, we never play everything that's there for it.”
Olson, however, has found himself getting lost in the process of playing. He said he works on the foundations and fundamentals of violin, playing to make himself better. He tries to “make them a little bit better and then hope carry that into the repertoire,” he said.
The recitals at Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex will be at 7:30 p.m. with tickets available at the door. K-12 and college students with a student ID are free.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
