Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Beth Orr.
Hi Mary Beth, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
The journey to being a musician started very young. Starting piano at 7 and singing gave me a safe space to feel good about myself, special. Starting French horn in the band at 11 gave me confidence around my peers, something I didn’t previously have. I have always been my best self on stage performing. Music is my language, my connection to the world. My journey to becoming an artist is a winding road. It took a long time to transition from being a 4.0 overachieving people-pleasing student to a professional willing to take risks and be vulnerable enough to make true art. As a freelancer, I was excellent at pleasing the conductor, the principal, etc., but trying to please everyone in auditions just did not work. It took many years to be brave enough to explore what I truly wanted to say as an artist, the story I wanted to tell. I previously felt I had to be only one thing, to specialize and dominate on the horn. Just win an audition. To be an artist, I realized I had to embrace, cultivate, and share absolutely all of what made me unique. I had focused so long on just the horn and trying to copy what made others successful, but it was empty and very clearly not successful for me. It wasn’t authentic. The real work is, well, real work. I had to figure out what made me who I was and how to share that with others. That discovery came from taking a big risk and competing in solo competitions; much success there led me to leave behind many of my current positions to go after the University Distinguished Fellowship at Michigan State University. It was the best decision I ever made. While in that audition process, I won my full-time position with Grand Rapids Symphony. The following 2 years were a juggle between getting tenure there and completing my master’s at MSU. But it was incredible. MSU gave me such space to explore everything about myself. It is where I developed my solo approach as a classical and folk fusion artist. Growing up a southern girl in Charleston, SC, listening to all the mountain music my Granny would sing from her childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains was coming back out. It was and still is music that stirs my soul. It was like a lightbulb turning on and exploding when I combined what I loved about classical and symphonic music with what I do best, playing the horn and singing. Why I protected my voice so long, I don’t know. Why I tried to hide my piano and vocal side, I guess I never wanted to be an attention-getting “Look at Me” kind of person. But I realized it’s different when you’re using it to connect with someone and others.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been smooth. In 2018 I was in an automobile crash that almost completely took everything I’d worked towards. I was T-Boned on a backcountry road and sustained a traumatic head injury, broken neck, lacerated liver and kidney, collapsed lung, bleeding spleen, and, worst of all, lost my front tooth and bit entirely through my lower lip. I was unconscious for 3 days without memory of anything, not even the accident itself. It wasn’t clear who I would be if I woke up. But, I earned the nickname Wolverine in the hospital among my doctors and nurses. I woke up, healed extremely quickly, and the rest of that summer, into the following year and a half, was getting my life back and my career. I had to undergo plastic surgery to repair my lip and the long process of getting an implant for my tooth. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to most, but the missing tooth was huge for my career and everything I’d built. The scar tissue in my lip could have single-handedly destroyed my ability to maintain my professional standard. It’s equal to a dancer trying to dance without an ankle. Our teeth are the structure of everything we do. And when that changes or is altered in even the smallest ways, it can change your decades-long finely curated technique. It was terrifying. It was painful. It was devastating. But I clawed back and willed my body and the universe to do my bidding. I did get my career back and then some. The irony is, that night before my accident, the last memory I had was, “I fucking love my life.” It took me a while to be sure I could return to that. The trauma is still there, and so is the doubt. But it just makes every beautiful artistic and musical moment even sweeter now.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I consider myself a folk fusion artist. Or maybe just a fusion artist. Because though my current voice is rooted in mountain music and classical, I am always open to exploring crossing and fusing other genres. If I could say what I’m most proud of, it’s when someone tells me, “I didn’t know a classical recital could be like that, I’ve never heard the horn before, and I think I love it now.” When I connect two unlikely audiences and move them in some true emotional way, I just couldn’t be any happier. I’m not too fond of the stigma of perfectionism in classical music. I am proudest of myself when I choose color, artistry, authenticity, and risk over safety and perfection. I want my audience to feel like they’ve gone somewhere, changed somehow, or even just experienced something completely new. What makes my show different are a few things. I use a continuous format, staging, and lighting when available to hold the narrative space for the audience. So often classical music has ignored the many other tools available to us to be most effective at connecting to our audience. By singing acapella traditional mountain melodies to segue the classical pieces, I’m able to show more clearly the connection between them. I always tell my audiences, both folk and classical music are about the same 4 things… God, Nature, Love, and Death.
The competition circuit has afforded me many new opportunities to share my musical stories in new and exciting ways! Just recently, I was featured by Vox Novus in their Fifteen Minutes of Fame series, which creates an international call for 1 minute commissions specifically for the featured artist. I had the incredible challenge of choosing just 15 from the 91 submissions I received. It was so incredible to be able to create a cohesive story and journey from composers that had never met, from all over the world, with different ideas, backgrounds, and styles. What a powerful process! The end of March was the web premiere in NYC and June 21st, it will broadcast on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. I’m incredibly excited to announce there will be another collaboration coming with Vox Novus in 2024! I couldn’t be happier showcasing and fostering support for new music, especially the fusion of folk and classical genres. Next up will be a special project in the works with PARMA Recordings!
All upcoming engagements will be posted on my website along with my blog, full bio, and media for those interested in knowing more.
So, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you before we go? How can they support you?
You can find me on all of my socials and I love interacting with fellow art and music lovers! My website has contact info, and my email, [email protected], is excellent. What brought me to Knoxville was a wonderful invitation by Katie Johnson-Webb to work with her incredibly talented students and perform my show at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. I love that type of work. I also love unconventional spaces to perform. I’m always looking to collaborate with arrangers, composers, producers, and presenters to create an unforgettable experience for an audience. I love adventure and new experiences! So any invitation to perform, record, or collaborate is welcome. Please comment, follow, like, and subscribe! My Press kit can be found here. https://marybethorr.bandzoogle.com/press-kit
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marybethorr.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryborr3rdhorn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MBOHorn
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marybethorr-horn
Image Credits
Karin Willman, A La Carte’ Photography
