ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic orchestra is one of the oldest musical institutions in the United States and the oldest of what have been dubbed the "Big Five" orchestras.
However, it was not until 1966 when the orchestra welcomed its first woman musician, Orin O’Brien, as a double bass player under conductor Leonard Bernstein. O’Brien remained with the orchestra for 55 years, retiring in 2021. Part of O’Brien’s story is illustrated in the recent Oscar-winning documentary “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” directed by her niece, Molly O’Brien.
To start off, Molly’s care and admiration for capturing her aunt’s story is evident throughout the entire movie, and you can feel her pride at finally being able to put her aunt in the spotlight. Molly clearly took the time talking to Orin about what was going to be included and how it would be portrayed, and it definitely shows as the movie goes on. All of that pride and admiration and passion definitely had a hand in this documentary short taking home the Oscar this past weekend.
While watching the movie, as well as afterward, I couldn’t help but think how absolutely appalling it was that it took until 1966, more than a century after the orchestra’s founding, for a women to finally join the orchestra. Somewhat more frustrating is how, even after she went through the audition process and ultimately got accepted, the ONLY things the media wanted to talk about were her looks and the mere fact she was a woman. There’s a scene when Orin is looking at some old feature stories with a friend of hers, and she talks about how almost none of the articles mentioned her multiple years of freelance work and other playing experience, and that frustration practically radiates off the screen even after so much time has passed. That scene alone made me think not only “THAT is why DEI policies are in place in businesses” but also how the media hasn’t really changed in that regard in terms of women being covered in the media. Even today, female celebrities are more likely to be asked condescending/offensive questions during press junkets for upcoming projects than their male co-stars (there’s a particular interview with Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner while they were promoting “The Avengers” that comes to mind that’s probably available on YouTube), and it’s just gross how that’s still happening all the way in 2025.
There are also a few scenes in the movie when Orin talks about being satisfied with being more of a background player and how she isn’t one to seek out the spotlight compared to her movie star parents, which I found simultaneously neat and rather frustrating. I liked her perspective because as she says, not everyone can be a principal soloist and everyone has an important part to play, particularly in music, but I also found it frustrating because it almost somewhat felt like she’s afraid to fully acknowledge her talent and admit she fully earned her spot in such a prestigious group, especially during that time period. I obviously can’t say whether or not that’s what Molly O’Brien was going for, but that juxtaposition was rather interesting to see play out in those parts of the movie.
I will also admit the movie gave me some unexpected feelings from my own musical career. There’s one scene when an old interview with Orin from shortly after she joined the orchestra was shown, which included her playing some of her audition piece, and it took me right back to when I auditioned for (and was ultimately awarded) my instrumental music scholarship at Butler Community College back in 2009. That bit of that interview brought back a flood of memories of the nerves and other emotions that were running through my head that day. There is also a scene when Orin is talking about needing to find new homes for her double basses and gets slightly choked up, and that hit me HARD and made me remember having to sell my clarinet a few years ago when I was facing some financial difficulties. I actually had to pause the movie for a few minutes after that scene because selling that clarinet, which had taken me to multiple different places, still remains one of the hardest decisions I’ve EVER had to make in my life.
I also absolutely loved the scenes which featured Orin with her students, a couple of who are teachers themselves, which I think is amazing. I feel like those scenes really go to show the importance of music education in a child’s life and the ripple effect(s) it can have down the line. The interactions shown are just so much fun to watch, especially in a scene showing part of her retirement party, and I think it shows how great a teacher Orin is.
If I had any gripes with the movie, one of them is the length. Clocking in at only 35 minutes, I felt the movie could have been longer because it felt like the surface was barely even scratched. I feel like the movie could have done more of a deep dive into Orin’s feelings from when she started with the orchestra, some of her favorite moments from her career, and things like that. I also feel like there could have been more moments in the film showing Orin actually playing in order to give viewers more of an idea of her overall skill.
Overall, “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” is a very solid documentary short, and I would give it a solid “A” grade. Director Molly O’Brien’s love and admiration for her aunt and her story shines through the entire movie, and I also really liked how the movie doesn’t really tone down the misogyny Orin faced when she joined the orchestra. However, I feel like the movie should have been longer in order to allow viewers to get to know Orin better. If you’re a fan of music documentaries, this is definitely a good one to cue up on Netflix.
