Artists

Mark O’Connor began his creative journey at the feet of American fiddling legend Benny Thomasson, and the iconic French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Now, he has melded these influences into a new American classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of String Playing. Mr. O’Connor has won three Grammy’s®, seven CMA awards as well as several national fiddle, guitar and mandolin champion titles. His distinguished career includes representing the United States Information Agency in cultural diplomacy to six continents and performing in front of several U.S. presidents including being invited to the White House by President Ronald Reagan to perform as a teen.

Renée Fleming is one of the most acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with five Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, she has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Super Bowl. Renée’s current concert calendar includes appearances in London, Milan, Paris, and at Carnegie Hall.

In November, she starred in the world premiere staging of The Hours, a new opera based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and award-winning film, at the Metropolitan Opera. She won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene.

A leading advocate for research at the intersection of arts and health, Renée launched the first ongoing collaboration between The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the NIH. She is a founding advisor for the Sound Health Network at UCSF.

Acclaimed for her extraordinary lyricism, technique and versatility, multiple Grammy® Award winner Sharon Isbin was named Musical America Worldwide’s 2020 Instrumentalist of the Year, the first guitarist in their 59-year award history. She was inducted into the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America Hall of Fame and received their Artistic Achievement Award. Hailed as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time,” she has been a soloist with over 200 orchestras, and has performed in the world’s finest halls across 40 countries.