The Only Girl in the Orchestra

The Only Girl in the Orchestra (2023) is a 35-minute American documentary you can watch online on iFILM. In 1966, Leonard Bernstein hired double bassist Orin O'Brien as the first female musician to hold a permanent seat in the New York Philharmonic. Directed by Molli O'Brien — Orin's own daughter — the film landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Film.

Now in her late eighties and recently retired, Orin looks back without fanfare: she'd always rather play than perform, support than lead. That quiet consistency, across six decades in one of the world's great orchestras, is what makes her story worth 35 minutes. Watch The Only Girl in the Orchestra online on iFILM.