Orin O'Brien (born 1935) is an American

double bassist The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Simila ...

. She has been a member of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

since joining in 1966 under the direction of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

; she was the first woman to join the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. She was on the faculty at

the Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

(where she was co-chair of the double bass department from 1992 to 2002), and currently teaches at

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, and

Mannes College The New School for Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...

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

Career

O'Brien was born in Hollywood, California to actors George O'Brien and

Marguerite Churchill Marguerite Churchill (December 26, 1910 – January 9, 2000) was an American stage and film actress whose career lasted 30 years, from 1922 to 1952. She was John Wayne's first leading lady, in ''The Big Trail'' (1930). Early years She was th ...

. She began her studies with Milton Kestenbaum, former principal bass of the

Pittsburgh Symphony The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Sy ...

under

Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose t ...

and member of the NBC Symphony under Arturo Toscanini; and with Herman Reinshagen, assistant-principal bass of the

under

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

and

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

at the University of California, Los Angeles. She continued her studies at

in New York City with

Frederick Zimmermann Frederick Zimmermann (May 18, 1906 – August 3, 1967) was an American double bassist and teacher. He played in the New York Philharmonic from 1930 to 1966 and taught at the Juilliard School, Mannes School of Music, Columbia University, Manhatt ...

, assistant principal double bass of the New York Philharmonic for many of his 36 years there. O'Brien attended the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California. Overview The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...

summer conservatory in 1952,1953,1954 and 1955. Before joining the New York Philharmonic, O'Brien performed with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

, the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, and the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...

(under

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...

, under whom she played the double bass solo as principal bass in the U.S. premiere of

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buen ...

's ''Variaciones Concertantes'', in 1962). She performed at the

Marlboro Music Festival The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in sess ...

in the 1960s where she made recordings with

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

and gave the premiere of

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

's Quartet for Double Basses, which was later recorded with Alvin Brehm, Robert Gladstone and

. She formerly taught at

YMHA A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, ...

, 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.

Family

O'Brien is the sister of

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Darcy O'Brien Darcy O'Brien (July 16, 1939, in Los Angeles – March 2, 1998, in Tulsa, Oklahoma) was an award-winning American author of fiction and literary criticism, most well known for his work in the genre of true crime. His first novel, ''A Way of Life ...

, who died in 1998, and the daughter of actress

References

External links

Time Magazine article, December 9, 1966

New York Philharmonic profile

Juilliard School profile

Mannes College The New School for Music profile

Manhattan School of Music profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Orin 1935 births Living people Classical double-bassists University of California, Los Angeles alumni Juilliard School alumni Juilliard School faculty Manhattan School of Music faculty 21st-century double-bassists Music Academy of the West alumni