New York Philharmonic bassist Orin O’Brien was born in Hollywood to parents in the film industry, George O’Brien and Marguerite Churchill, and received her early musical training in Los Angeles, where she studied with Milton Kestenbaum and Herman Reinshagen. She then studied in New York with Frederick Zimmermann and graduated from The Juilliard School. She has been a member of the New York Philharmonic since 1966, where she has played with the world’s leading conductors. She has participated in numerous chamber music festivals, including Marlboro, and in first performances of the Gunther Schuller Quartet for Four Double Basses. She was co-chair of the Juilliard double bass department from 1992 to 2002. She is also on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and the Mannes College of Music. Her chamber music performances have included the quintets of Schubert and Dvorak with the Guarneri String Quartet.

Photo of Orin O'Brien,: Henry Grossman