June 6

It is documentary day in the June Swoon.

Because of busy day at the theater, I decided that today I would watch the Academy Award winning documentary short for the first film of the day. It was called The Only Girl in the Orchestra, and it was a celebration of Orin O’Brien, the first woman to become a member of the New York Philharmonic.

O’Brien played the double bass the doc came about as she was retiring from her position.

It felt like this was too short and that this topic could sustain a much longer documentary. O’Brien was an interesting topic as someone who just did not want to be in the spotlight. She said, in the doc, “I didn’t have any ambition of being a soloist, I liked being in the background.“

She even revolted against the very idea of the documentary focusing on her. O’Brien’s niece, Molly O’Brien directed the documentary and tried to convince her that she a valuable topic.

Her passion for music definitely came through in this doc, even if it is too short. Oren O’Brien is a fascinating character that shines in the short.