About Me.
Hailing from his native Kingman, Kansas, Patrick Orr embarked on his musical journey at age ten with Joan Robinson. By fifteen, he began studying with Dr. Julie Bees at Wichita State University. Presently, Patrick has found his artistic home in Dallas, Texas where he studies under the mentorship of Andrey Ponochevny at Southern Methodist University. In recent years, Patrick has won a series of accolades, including gold medals at both the International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival and the inaugural Festival Internacional de Piano y Orquesta de Guadalajara; second place in the Mu Phi Epsilon International Young Artist Competition; and semi-finalist standings in both the Wideman and Dallas International Piano Competitions. Patrick has performed concertos alongside orchestras such as the Kansas City Symphony, the WSU Symphony, the Arapahoe Philharmonic, and most recently with the West Mexico Symphony Orchestra at Teatro Degollado. Beyond playing the piano, Patrick indulges in horror movies, bullet journaling, and learning fun facts about outer space!
His favorite quote is by Leonard Bernstein –
“To achieve great things, two things are needed:
A plan and not quite enough time.”
Education
Southern Methodist University
2023 - Present
I am currently at Southern Methdist University as of the fall of 2023, where I am pursuing my M.M. in Piano Performance. I am a student of Andrey Ponochevny.
Wichita State University
2016 - 2020
I received my Bachelor of Music from Wichita State University as a student of Dr. Julie Bees. In my time at WSU, I was an active member of Mu Phi Epsilon and was heavily involved in chamber music and accompanying. I appeared with the WSU Symphony Orchestra and was in various chamber music ensembles under Dr. Leonid Shukaev.