14 Facts About Orin O'Brien

Orin O'Brien was born on 1935 and is an American double bassist.

Orin O'Brien was a member of the New York Philharmonic, joining in 1966 under the direction of Leonard Bernstein; she was the first woman to join the orchestra.

Orin O'Brien was on the college faculty at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College The New School for Music.

Orin O'Brien is currently on the Preparatory Division faculty at the Manhattan School.

Orin O'Brien was born in Hollywood, California, to George Orin O'Brien and Marguerite Churchill.

Orin O'Brien began her studies with Milton Kestenbaum, former principal bass of the Pittsburgh Symphony under Fritz Reiner and member of the NBC Symphony under Arturo Toscanini; and with Herman Reinshagen, assistant-principal bass of the New York Philharmonic under Gustav Mahler and Arturo Toscanini at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Orin O'Brien continued her studies at the Juilliard School in New York City with Frederick Zimmermann, assistant principal double bass of the New York Philharmonic for many of his 36 years there.

Orin O'Brien attended the Music Academy of the West summer conservatory in 1952,1953,1954, and 1955.

Orin O'Brien performed at the Marlboro Music Festival in the 1960s where she made recordings with Pablo Casals and gave the premiere of Gunther Schuller's Quartet for Double Basses, which was later recorded with Alvin Brehm, Robert Gladstone and Frederick Zimmermann.

Orin O'Brien formerly taught at YMHA, the Estherwood Summer Musical Festival, and the Institute de Haute Etudes Musicales in Montreux, Switzerland.

Orin O'Brien has given masterclasses at the Peabody Institute, the Tanglewood Festival, New England Conservatory, and Yale University.

Orin O'Brien's brother is true crime author Darcy Orin O'Brien, who died in 1998.

Orin O'Brien's story is documented in the Netflix documentary The Only Girl in the Orchestra.

The film, directed by her niece Molly Orin O'Brien, premiered on Netflix on December 4,2024, and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards.