Michelle Mašek (Levy-O'Connor)

Michelle Mašek (Levy-O'Connor) is experienced in a variety of musical styles, including American & Celtic Fiddle Styles, Singer-Songwriter, Early Music, Gregorian Chant, and Chamber Music on violin, viola, fiddle, and voice, with a fascination with & rare expertise in playing on unusual historical stringed instruments such as Medieval vielles and rebecs. She is skilled and experienced in working with sheet music, chord charts, playing by ear, and creating string arrangements and improvisations for recording artists. Having studied paleography and the earliest forms of music notation, her work recreating music for epic 12th century Celtic poetry has been published by Graff Academic: The Lais of Marie de France: On Chivalric Knights, Fair Damsels and Forbidden Love. Currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area (California USA), she performs high energy, foot-tapping tunes for New England Contra Dance & elegant, historically informed English Country Dance, and she works as the Cantorial Soloist & Songleader for Congregation Shir Ami. When she's not creating, she enjoys caring for abandoned/injured/special-needs budgies & cockatiels with Mickaboo Bird Rescue.

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TOURING BANDS, MAJOR PERFORMANCES, & ARTIST RESIDENCIES

• Big Nazo Puppets, (2000-2004) directed by Erminio Pinque

• Toe Jam Puppet Band, (2004-2008) directed by Tom Poitras & Vinnie Lovegrove

• Cantiga & The New World Renaissance Band, (2005-2007) with tenor Owain Phyfe

• Vermont PuppeTree, (Vermont, 2007) The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow directed by Ann Ingram Legunn

• Eureka Springs Blues Festival (AR, USA) with singer-songwriters Maia Archote & Melissa Carper

• Bay Area Country Dance & Song Society (BACDS): Fall Frolick Dance Weekends, Mad Robin Balls,

       Playford Balls (2010-present)

• Connecticut Early Music Festival (2010) with Istanpitta, directed by Al Cofrin

• Vancouver Early Music Festival (2011 & 2013) w/Elaine Adair Ensemble, directed by Benjamin Bagby

• Hey Days English Country Dance & Music Week, (2013 & 2025 Napa, CA & Los Gatos, CA) faculty

• Artist-In-Residence with Youth In Arts, (2012-2015, CA) Medieval Music Living History Presentations in Schools, self-directed

• The Boston Camerata, (2011 & 2012) A Medieval Christmas directed by Anne Azéma & Joel Cohen

• New England Folk Festival/NEFFA (2013, Massachusetts) with Anita Anderson & Jim Oakden

• Ann Arbor Dawn Dance (2013, Michigan) with Roguery (Jim Oakden, Dave Bartley, Anita Anderson)

• Class V Music, (2014 & 2015) Baroque & Celtic music for whitewater rafting, directed by Shira Kammen

• Flag of Freedom Productions: Amazigh (Berber) Music, at Yoshi's (San Francisco, USA) directed by Moh Alileche

• Vajra Voices: (2016, CA) Le Lai de la Fonteinne directed by Karen Clark

• Sacramento Country Dance Society Spring Weekend, (2016, CA) with pianist Jacqueline Schwab

• University of Limerick Lunchtime Concert Series, (2018, Limerick, Ireland) The Lai of The Werewolf, self-directed

• Galway Early Music Festival, (2017 & 2018, Galway, Ireland)

• Pinewoods Early Music Week, (2018 & 2019, Plymouth, MA) faculty

• Limerick Philharmonic Orchestra (2018 & 2019, Limerick, Ireland)

• Keltia Productions, (2017, Galicia) Tradición Medieval directed by Carlos Núñez

• Orquestra do Pórtico da Gloria, (2018, Galicia) at Catedral de Santiago de Compostela Galicia, directed by Jordi Savall & Carlos Núñez

• Limerick Philharmonic Orchestra, (Ireland, 2018) directed by Robert Houlihan

• H.I.P.S.T.E.R./Historically Informed Performance Series, Teaching, Education, and Research, (Ireland, 2018 & 2019) concert series & flash mobs directed by Wolodymyr Smishkewych & Yonit Kosovske

• Cistermúsica Festival "Stars & Stones" (Portugal 2019), directed by tenor Wolodymyr Smishkewych

• Cantorial Soloist for Congregation Shir Ami (2023-present, CA)

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