O’Reilly had a long-standing association with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as a violinist and board member
American violinist Mary O’Reilly died on Thursday 16 January age 71. O’Reilly had allegedly died of a heart attack in hospital, after entering for a respiratory infection.
O’Reilly attended New England Conservatory from 1971 to 1976, where she received a bachelor of music.
Moving to Europe, she became a associate concertmaster of the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra from 1982 to 1984. She then joined the Radio Philharmonic of the Dutch Broadcasting Corporation, serving as principal second violinist and second concertmaster until 1988.
O’Reilly then embarked on a long career with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, serving as first violinist for 15 years until 2004. She continued as a board member of the Association of the Friends of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, where she was responsible for managing musical instruments given on loan to members of the orchestra.
She was professor of violin at Rotterdam Hellendaal Music Institute from 1993 and became its managing and artistic director from 2002 until 2015.
Tenor Charles Rhodes shared a tribute to O’Reilly on Facebook: ’When I studied voice at New England Conservatory, I made it my business to make friends with all types of musicians, not just my voice major mates.
’One of those very special to me was a fabulous violinist, Mary O’Reilly, whose passing Thursday was relayed through Facebook. She never looked down on singers. Often in music schools we are not considered true musicians. My heart goes out to her loved ones, and those of us who carry many memories in our brains of her fabulous playing.’
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