Michelle Mašek (O'Connor)

Michelle Mašek (Levy-O'Connor) is experienced in a variety of musical styles, including American & Celtic Fiddle Styles, Singer-Songwriter, Early Music, and Chamber Music on violin, viola, fiddle, and voice, with a fascination with playing on rare, 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 arrangements and improvisations. After living in Ireland for a few years, she's back in the San Francisco Bay Area performing high energy, foot-tapping tunes for Contra & historically informed English Country Dances, and she currently works as the Cantorial Soloist 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, directed by Tom Poitras & Vinnie Lovegrove (2004-2008)

• Cantiga & The New World Renaissance Band w/the late, great tenor Owain Phyfe (2005-2006)

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

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

• Artist-In-Residence with Youth In Arts, California (2012-2015)

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

• "A Medieval Christmas" with The Boston Camerata, directed by Anne Azéma & Joel Cohen

• New England Folk Festival/NEFFA (2013)

• Class V Music: 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

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

• Galway Early Music Festival (Galway, Ireland)

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

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

• Limerick Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)

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

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

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

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