Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Modesto High teen claims fiddlin' prize

O'Connor Matthews, 15, of Modesto was the grand-prize winner of Columbia's 27th annual Fiddle & Bango Contest, held Oct. 3. His prize was a quarter-ounce gold nugget, which he intends to have made into a necklace pendant for his mother, Joani.

O'Connor, a Modesto High School sophomore in the International Baccalaureate program, has been playing the violin since he was 4 or 5 years old, said his father, Jim. He studies under Linda Brendler in the Suzuki program. "She turns these kids into beautiful music machines," Jim Matthews said. About six years ago on a trip to Ireland, O'Connor was performing on the streets of Dublin and tourists began filming him, believing him part of the local music scene.

O'Connor is a member of the quartet Strings of Fire, which has performed a number of times in the lobby of the Gallo Center for the Arts prior to concerts in its theaters. The group will play Oct. 23 before the Rogers Theater concert by the Irish-American band Cherish the Ladies. O'Connor also is concertmaster of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra.