A product of America's rich aural folk tradition, Mark O'Connor began his journey at the feet of violin masters Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson and French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. Inspired by these and a multitude of other musical styles and genres, Mr. O'Connor has melded and shaped these influences into a new American classical music.
 
For his first recording for the Sony Classical record label, Appalachia Waltz, Mr. O'Connor collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and doublebassist Edgar Meyer. This was followed by Appalachian Journey, which received a Grammy Award in 2001. His current recordings on his own OMAC recording label include Crossing Bridges (with the Appalachia Waltz Trio), Double Violin Concerto (with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop conducting and Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio Live in New York.
 
O’Connor tours the country with his Appalachia Waltz Trio and his Hot Swing jazz ensemble. He also performs regularly at festivals and with symphony orchestras.
www.markoconnor.com

At 20, cellist Natalie Haas is already a seasoned performer, recording artist and teacher. Over the past three years, she has joined master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser for festival and concert appearances in Scotland, France and throughout the U.S. Currently a student of Fred Sherry at the Juilliard School in New York City, Natalie discovered the cello at age nine. In addition to having extensive classical music training, Natalie is accomplished in a broad array of fiddle genres.

A California native, Natalie has been featured cellist with the 100- member San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers orchestra beginning with their Alaska tour in 1999. She also currently performs with her sister Brittany (an old-time fiddle master and member of Darol Anger's American Fiddle Ensemble), the piano quintet Polaris, the Juilliard Symphony and with pianist Susie Petrov for Scottish country dances in the New York area. Natalie teaches privately, in workshop settings, and at various fiddle camps, including the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp and Mark O'Connor Strings Conference.

In March 2003, Natalie was a winner in the first Alternative Styles Awards competition at the American String Teachers Association national convention.
www.nataliehaas.com or www.imgartists.com

Carol Cook has performed as a soloist with orchestras throughout the UK including the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, the Cambridge Sinfonia and the Edinburgh Players, among others. She began her musical training on the violin at the age of three and was taught at home by her father until gaining a place at St. Mary's Music School in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has received an Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory whilst studying with Roland Vamos and a Masters Degree from the Juilliard School where she studied with Hsin-Yun Huang and Mischa Amory.
A frequent performer at the Caramoor Festival, she has performed on their "Rising Star" series. She is also a member of the Caramoor Virtuosi which performs every summer during the International Festival. As an orchestral musician, Carol performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic and is a member of Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. She has also played with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and is the guest Principal Violist of the Cardiff Bay Chamber Orchestra.
As a member of the Broyhill Ensemble, she has performed throughout New York, including the 92nd St. Y and at An Appalachian Summer Festival in North Carolina. The ensemble recently recorded the Piano Quartets of George Tsontakis on the Koch label and their performances are regularly broadcast on National Public Radio.

She teaches regularly at the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp in Tennessee and the Mark O'Connor Strings Conference in San Diego.
www.imgartists.com

John Blake’s love for music was first sparked by his mother, a pianist. He later honed in on his interest in the violin while at public school in Philadelphia. He continued to study at the Settlement School for Music and graduated from West Virginia University. He pursued further studies at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Switzerland.

A renowned jazz violinist, Blake first made waves on the music scene in the mid-seventies as part of the Grover Washington, Jr. group. In addition to performing with his quartet and as a soloist, he has also appeared with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the McCoy Tyner Trio, Turtle Island String Quartet, Quartet Indigo, the Steve Turre Sextet, and the Billy Taylor Trio. Today, Blake is not only a performer, but a teacher, lecturer, author, and composer as well. He hosts workshops, lectures, and educational concerts, encouraging up-and-coming artists to follow in his footsteps.
www.johnblakejr.com

Darol Anger is an accomplished violinist, fiddler, composer, and educator. He is skilled in several musical genres, including folk, bluegrass, and jazz. His work with many prominent string improvisers helped to broaden his interests and develop his style.

An award-winning composer and McDowell Colony Fellow, Anger helped create the String Resource Board for the International Jazz Educators Association. A long-time ASTA member, he has produced two instructional videos, and has given concerts and clinics worldwide.
Darol presently heads The Republic Of Strings, playing Darol’s compositions and international music. His other groups Fiddlers 4, Psychograss, Newgrange, and the Anger-Marshall Duo also feature his work. As a co-founder of the Turtle Island String Quartet, Anger developed new string techniques. The David Grisman Quintet forged a new genre of acoustic string music with Darol’s violin often in the forefront.

In the spirit of String Education, Darol’s contribution to Ultimate Strings is a fiddle duet with his former star student, Brittany Haas, another multi-talented string player and subsequent member of his Republic Of Strings.
www.darolanger.com

Eighteen-year-old Californian Brittany Haas began playing the violin at age 5. She spent summers honing her skills at Alasdair Fraser's Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School where she met Southern Appalachian fiddle master, Bruce Molsky, who most influenced her rhythmic style. Molsky introduced her to violin innovator Darol Anger, who hired her at age 14 for his Republic of Strings, which showcases the best young string players currently riding the wave of raw creativity in acoustic music.

Brittany won ASTA's Best Recognition of Tradition award in 2003 and was chosen as one of Strings magazine's "Dream Team" for her wildly creative fiddling. She plays a 5-string Silakowski violin and spends summers touring and teaching at Mark O'Connor's and other fiddle camps in the US and Canada. She is currently a freshman at Princeton University.
www.brittanyhaas.com

Mark Wood comes from an artistic family. With an artist father, a concert pianist mother, and three brothers all in the string industry profession, Wood has been surrounded by music and the arts his whole life. As a student, Wood sat first chair in his high school orchestra, trained with Leonard Bernstein, and performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall, and at The Kennedy Center. Although offered a full scholarship to study at The Julliard School of Music, Wood preferred to pursue a less traditional course. He has since designed his own line of electric violins, which he sells at Wood Violins.

Not only is Mark Wood a celebrated electric violinist, but a producer, inventor, and Emmy Award-winning composer as well. His talents certainly run the gamut.
www.markwoodmusic.com

Hampton (ROCK) String Quartet - The Hampton String Quartet is comprised of four musicians who play classically influenced arrangements of well known rock songs. In venues from New York to London to Hong Kong, HSQ plays wherever audiences crave something truly different. Playing traditional, priceless, acoustic instruments, HSQ adds rock amplification, smoke and lights to move classical music into the 21st century.
Regis Iandiorio received his bachelor’s degree from Julliard School of Music and his Master’s from Manhattan School. He appeared as soloist with Tchaikovsky Competition Gold-medal-winner Elmar Oliveira in a series of violin duet albums for the Paganiniana and Musical Heritage Society record labels. Prior to joining HSQ as the first violin, Iandiorio was part of The Hofstra String Quartet. He is the recipient of several soloist and chamber music awards.

Abe Appleman, a native of Japan, began playing the violin at age four. His family moved to the Boston area where, at age 15, he had the opportunity to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In addition to performing with HSQ as the second violin, Appleman regularly appears at the Tanglewood Music Festival, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and serves as concertmaster of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra.

Richard Maximoff, viola, is an accomplished and well respected musician. Maximoff was principal violist for several chamber music groups, and has had the distinct pleasure of premiering compositions by Bernstein, Milhaud, Copland, and Hindemith to name a few. Maximoff’s recognitions also include performing at the White House during two presidential administrations.

John Reed, cellist, was trained from age 7 to 17 at The Juilliard School of Music punctuated by summers at the Meadowmount School of Music. He received a BFA from SUNY Purchase and then studied at Yale. His teachers have included Channing Robbins, Leonard Rose, Harvey Shapiro, George Ricci, Aldo Parisot and Janos Starker. After school, he teamed with brother, (violinist with The New York Philharmonic) and mother (Juilliard piano graduate) performing classical works. As principal arranger for HSQ, Mr. Reed has scored over 50 arrangements which have been aired on TV and radio; played with ballets and published and sold throughout the U.S., Europe and the Far East. He recently turned his attention to preserving the works of the quartet and thus started the music publishing business of Mona Lisa Sound. They sell over 400 products through catalog and internet sales accompanied by Mr. Reed's striking cover art.
http://www.monalisasound.com/basic/hsq/hsqWho.html