East Hampton Library Music as Inspiration film series, presented in collaboration with the Hamptons Festival of Music, continues with a screening of the Oscar-winning short The Only Girl in the Orchestra. The film highlights the journey of trailblazing double bassist Orin O'Brien, who made history in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic, hired by Leonard Bernstein. Following the screening, double bassists Iris Ornig and Peter Weiss will perform.
Held in the Baldwin Room.
About the performers:
Peter Weiss - Peter studied guitar and string bass as a teenager, attended the Berklee School of Music, SUNY Oneonta, and earned a graduate degree from the Manhattan School of Music. His most significant mentor and teacher was Homer Mensch, principal bassist of the NY Philharmonic, with whom Peter studied for five years.
Peter was an established bassist on the New York Jazz scene. Venues include Birdland, The Village Vanguard, a six-year engagement at the Blue Note for Saturday brunch, and live radio broadcasts from the West End Cafe. He performed with the Bronx Symphony, the Greenwich Village Symphony, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
For 10 years, Peter was a member of the Etta Jones/Houston Person Quintet. He toured internationally and recorded on over 40 CDs on the Muse and Savant record labels. His 35 years of performance credits include playing with Nat Adderly, Ray Bryant, Randy Brecker, Frank Wess, Winard Harper, Michael Carvin, Claudio Roditi, Donald Harrison, Hank Crawford, Richard Wyands, Gloria Lynn, Grady Tate, Kenny Washington, and Lorez Alexandria. As an educator, Peter taught for 6 years on the jazz faculty at the State University of NY at New Paltz.
While on tour, Peter met pianist Jane Hastay in San Francisco. They have been married for 33 years and have lived in East Hampton for the last 25. He sings with the Choral Society of the Hamptons and performs locally on bass and guitar.
Iris Ornig - Bassist and composer Iris Ornig is one of the most original female voices on the contemporary New York jazz scene. Since arriving in New York City from Germany in 2003, she has performed with an impressive roster of some of the most influential contemporary jazz musicians, including Gretchen Parlato, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Frahm, Kurt Rosenwinkel and many others. Ornig is a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer and arranger, and a charismatic performer. Her compositions are swinging, stormy, melodic, sensitive, playful, angular, and straight-ahead, always offering plenty of twists and surprises.
