Emily Orr
By School of Performing Arts
Emily Orr is a music director, conductor, pianist, arranger, vocalist, and educator with over 10 years of professional experience. Born and raised in Wichita, KS, Emily comes from a musical family and became involved in multiple facets of the Fine Arts at an early age. She grew up performing in local community and regional theatres as both an actor and pianist—from Music Theatre for Young People to the Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre, Cabaret Old Town, and Music Theatre Wichita.
Emily graduated from Wichita State University, earning a B.M. in Piano Performance and B.F.A. in Musical Theatre. As a former member of Ad Astra, a 16-person A Capella ensemble, she sang at the Masterworks Festival and the A Capella Series at Carnegie Hall in 2012. She moved to New York City in 2015 and accompanied auditions for multiple Broadway productions; soon after that, she ventured abroad to perform as a singer-dancer for Holland America Line cruises, where she met her husband, Saul. She continued working on cruises for five years as a singer-pianist, playing music worldwide for audiences in the award-winning live music venue, Billboard Onboard. She later became a vocal arranger and music director for Billboard Onboard, training subsequent musicians for the role.
In 2019, Emily made her directorial debut when she guest directed and music directed "The Theory of Relativity" at WSU. Her most recent role was "Anytime Annie" in 42nd Street at MTW. In the same season, she was the Associate Music Director, programmer, and keyboard player for "Jersey Boys." Other performance credits include "She Loves Me" (Ilona), and "Twelfth Night" (Feste), where she also served as the vocal music director. Notable music directing credits include "Brigadoon," "Cabaret," "Next to Normal," and selections from Adam Guettel’s "Myths and Hymns."
Emily completed her M.F.A. in Theatre–Music Direction from Penn State University, where she also served as a musical theatre lecturer and music director. She joins WSU immediately following her summer music internship with the original creative team of "Back to the Future: The Musical on Broadway."
