Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010
Sean O'Connor: A Voice in the Wilderness
Sean O'Connor had a decision to make after earning a degree in music education from Northern Illinois University. He had been honing his performance skills in an a cappella outfit throughout college and was suddenly faced with a teaching job offer and a performance job offer almost simultaneously.
"Like the old cliché', I said to myself that I was young and I'm going to do it now," he says, meaning that he opted for the performance route, secure in the realization that his degree would serve him later. And for the ensuing decade or more, he spent most of his time singing - much of that on cruise ships, and was destined to meet his wife, Christina O'Connor, on the high seas. "She was dancing on a ship and I was singing in an a cappella group," he says. The two entertainers met in 1998, married soon afterward and eventually started a family - evidence that they were not simply two ships passing in the night.
Sean O'Connor, originally from the Chicago area, arrived on the Grand Strand more than three years ago from Nashville, where his wife worked as a dancer on a showboat. "The same company produces a show at one of the theaters here, and they offered her a position," he says.
The desire to sing a cappella remained strong in O'Connor, and his years of performance earned him a reputation. "When the Hard Rock Park opened, they contacted me, and this kind of lit the fire again." He put together a group called All Access and worked at the park. "Most of those people were from out of town, but since then I have hired all local people singing with the group." The current incarnation of All Access has performed regularly at Freestyle Music Park and The Market Common, and O'Connor says the group opened for Edwin McCain a couple of times in Wilmington, N.C. "I love the fact that we are all local because it gives the area a new type of entertainment."
A cappella leaves no room for error, and there are no instruments to hide behind. "There is no crutch to hold onto," he says. "You are hung out to dry - so you really have to be tight with your harmonies and comfortable." All Access is slated to perform a couple of benefits in March - one for "Taste of the Coast" at Barefoot Landing in connection with Risen Christ Lutheran Church and School and another at The Market Common for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) research.
Some might recognize O'Connor from Dixie Stampede, where he has worked for a year as backup emcee. "When I am not emceeing, I am a rider, dancer and driving horse wagons. I absolutely love it." He says he emcees roughly a third of the shows throughout the season.
The O'Connors recently started their own business, S&C Productions, which provides entertainment of all sorts for venues here and into North Carolina. Although the roster is quite small at this time and includes singers and dancers, O'Connor asserts that he is always looking for new entertainment. He laughed when we asked if S&C Productions could have provided entertainment for the Ed Sullivan show. The business is run from their home.
And as he predicted, that college degree now serves him well. "My children both go to Risen Christ Lutheran School," he says. "Our principal was aware of my degree and initially offered me a job teaching music." O'Connor teaches language arts and social studies to grade six through eight and music to grades three through eight. He says he enjoys having his children close at hand. "My daughter Lindsey [6] is in kindergarten. I see her throughout the day in the hallways, and she gets all shy, like, 'that's my Dad.' My little boy [Nathan, 3] goes to preschool there." O'Connor is also the music director for the praise and worship service at Risen Christ.
Husband, father, entertainer and teacher - it would seem O'Connor could possibly have too much on his plate for downtime. "What little time we have to ourselves we like to spend at the beach, and we always make family time in the summers. It's tough, but we make it work."
The O'Connors own a home in Longs, and plan on sticking around. "We love it here," he enthuses. "I'm living a dream in the grand scheme of things and couldn't be happier."
Know of anyone with an interesting job or career that should be given the Working 4 A Living treatment? Contact Roger Yale at rograt@verizon.net.
