Rising Stars: Meet Peter K. O’Connell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter K. O’Connell.

Hi Peter, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was in Kindergarten, our saintly teacher, Sister Donna Marie, took our class on a trip to WEBR-AM in Buffalo, NY. The minute my five year-old self walked into that radio station control room, boom! Everything changed for me. I knew instantly my life would always include a microphone. From securing my high school’s first-ever broadcasting internship to hosting Dayton, Ohio’s #1 rated Saturday night request show on a 50,000-watt FM station while only in college, I’ve been behind a microphone ever since. My audio production and voiceover work evolved into my voiceover production company, audio’connell Voiceover Talent. I voice commercials, narrations, and broadcast promos there for clients like Amazon (AWS), Crest Toothpaste, iHeart Radio, Pandora/Sirius XM, Tic Tac, and Duracell Batteries. In 2016, we O’Connells packed up our Conestoga wagon and ventured from our longtime home in Buffalo, NY, to Raleigh, NC (near Research Triangle Park), where my Source-Connect equipped, professional recording studio today serves media producers worldwide.

 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing about owning a small business is smooth. Nothing about owning a voiceover business (or working in the performing arts) is smooth. Hopefully, anyone entering the VO business have experienced a strong education in school, and we can all improvise (from a performance and business standpoint). If you need to work a primary job to support your voiceover “habit,” then you do that. Money and jobs will ebb and flow. However, specifically regarding a voiceover career, you will make your career happen if you need to perform voiceovers like you need to breathe (and client feedback is positive overall). Just remember, all paths to a professional career in voiceover are not the same.

Thanks. What else should our readers know about your voiceover work and what you’re currently focused on?

I am most known for my commercial voiceover work, followed by narration work. My commercial work includes spots I’ve done for national, regional, and local radio and TV clients like Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers, the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, Duracell Batteries, and Sunsetter Awnings. It also includes my character voice work for commercials for clients Crest Toothpaste and the Massachusetts State Lottery. Also included are the political commercials I record for various candidates and issues/propositions during election seasons. As for my narration work, I voice many corporate sales presentations for global companies like IBM and AWS (Amazon Web Services Cloud Computing). I also narrate many explainer videos for brands like Deloitte and General Electric. I’ve also voiced many e-learning projects for companies like Rich Products Corporation. As to your question regarding what sets apart my voiceover talents from others, well, that can only be answered by the subjective ears of the hiring producers.

I have received two consistent pieces of feedback after doing this for 40+ years professionally.

1. One is my versatility as a voiceover performer. My vocal range and creativity make a media producer’s job not only easier but also flexible. I am able to give them VO options that they may not have considered, and video and audio producers seem to really appreciate that.
2. Two is that I am fun to work with. That means I am not only professional, take direction well, and play well with others (not always true with every performer), but I also make the work experience fun and creative. That’s why many folks hire me over and over.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I thank God daily for many things: my wife, children, family, and friends. The community of voice actors I have known for decades is always a source of inspiration and support. There are too many to name, but they know who they are. Then I have also had some fantastic voice acting teachers over the years (most of whom will still talk to me 😉) Folks like Pat Fraley, Maurice Tobias, Toni Silveri, and Mary-Lynn Wissner.  I always need to remember that if I have achieved any success in my voiceover career, it’s in part because of the patience of these fine people.

Contact Info:

• Website: audioconnell.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audioconnell/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peterkoconnellvoiceover
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkoconnell/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/audioconnell
• Youtube: @https://www.youtube.com/audioconnell
• Other: https://blog.audioconnell.com/