Kevin Orr
School of Music

Associate Professor
T: 273-3183
E: korr@ufl.edu

Address:
MUB P.O. Box 117900
Gainesville, Fl 32611-7900

Concert pianist and Associate Professor Kevin Robert Orr maintains an active performance schedule throughout North America and abroad.  A 2009-2011 University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, Orr’s international activities have been particularly focused in China, where he is director of the annual Chinese-American International Piano Institute (www.CAIpianoinstitute.org), an event he co-founded, held at the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu.  Additionally, he has performed and taught in Australia, South Korea, Canada, and throughout Europe.  Orr’s frequent collaborative work has paired him with such internationally acclaimed artists as Karl Leister (clarinet, Berlin Philharmonic) and James Thompson (trumpet, Montreal Symphony).  

Orr ’s 2007 solo CD of Johannes Brahms’ Opus 5 Sonata and Opus 10 Ballades has garnered international critical acclaim.  Gramophone critic, Jed Distler wrote "Within four bars, I recognise that a formidable, seasoned artist is at work...two minutes into the sonata's first movement and I'm hooked by Kevin Robert Orr's huge sound, pliable command of Brahms's thick writing, bracing sense of rhythm, and generous phrasing." Similarly, American Record Guide remarked, "This is first-rate playing, expressive and assured."

Orr’s follow-up CD, Johannes Brahms Sonatas 1 and 2, is presently underway.

A strong advocate of the music of living composers, Orr has premiered and recorded solo and ensemble works by composers Jennifer Margaret Barker, Paul Basler, Houston Dunleavy, Paul Richards, Robert Rollin, and John Weinsweig, The 2005 release of Barker’s CD “Geenyoch” features Orr on the composer’s 2001 solo piano work, Geenyoch Ballant, a performance about which critic Jon Conrad wrote Orr performed ‘brilliantly.’ Orr’s performances of both new and standard classical repertoire have been heard on Public Radio throughout the United States.

While focusing primarily upon classical performance and teaching, Orr also pursues interests in other musical styles, including improvisation. His University of Florida course, “Improvisational Keyboard Skills and Related Technology,” exposes students to practical keyboard skills outside the classical realm. His article on this topic was published in Piano Pedagogy Forum in January, 2005. He has presented papers and workshops on this subject and others at regional, national, and international conferences.

Dr. Orr studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music at Case Western Reserve University, and at The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. He was the recipient of the William Kurzban Prize in Piano from the Cleveland Institute, and the Aurora Ragiani Martin Piano Award from The Dana School. His teachers have included Paul Schenly, Robert Elliot Hopkins, Caroline Oltmanns, Melva Huebert, and Doris Arnold-Cunningham. With graduate degrees in performance, Dr. Orr also holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education.

In addition to Orr’s piano institute in Chengdu, China, he is founder and director of the University of Florida Young Pianists Festival (www.arts.ufl.edu/music/piano-festival), a week-long event for pre-college pianists held in mid-June of each year at the University of Florida School of Music.  

Kevin Robert Orr records for Meyer Media, LLC. His CDs can be purchased via his website, kevinrobertorr.com, or downloaded from iTunes.com.
 

 

On the web:

Piano Studio Website
University of Florida Young Pianists Festival
Chinese-American International Piano Institute