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Music professor promotes lifelong passion

As students pass by Constance Hall, they often hear pianos faintly ringing out of the windows as assistant professor of music John Orfe and his students hone their craft.

Since learning to play the piano as a child, Orfe has been around music for much of his life. Ten years ago, Orfe was called to teach at Bradley and has been able to use his lifelong passion for music to teach others.

“Although no one in my family is a professional musician, I felt called to music from a young age,” Orfe said. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted teaching, performing and composing to combine in my career.”

According to Orfe, he has been able to achieve all three aspects of his dream by teaching students at Bradley, performing nationally at concert halls and having other musicians perform his own compositions.

Professor of Music Performance John Jost has worked with Orfe since he started as a temporary instructor and said Orfe sets a professional tone for all of his students.

“He has very high standards,” Jost said. “I think a lot of students really respect him very highly for those standards. I think some students may think his clases are difficult, but he has high expectations.”

In the classroom, Orfe said some of his favorite times in the classroom are the moments of clarity his students have after hard work.

“I live for those ‘eureka’ moments, when confusion dissolves and my students link the aural, visual, cognitive and kinesthetic aspects of music and draw connections between music and their other studies,” Orfe said. “One challenge is to be patient and persistent in the learning process. Hard work done smart over time does pay off.”

Orfe has even been able to spread his love for composition to his students with his courses, including composition and music theory.

“The [Peoria Lunaire concert featured] music by living composers including my composition class plus the seven students who wrote pocket concertos for the faculty group Peoria Lunaire,” Orfe said.

This concert allowed Orfe’s students to apply what they have learned over their college careers and have their works performed alongside established composers’ pieces.

Beyond coursework, Orfe has also spent time performing at famous music halls across the country.

“[I’ve performed at] Disney Hall [in] Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Center [in Washington D.C.], [and] major halls across the U.S. and abroad including London, Moscow, Lima, Berlin, Amsterdam, Seoul … [and] Beijing in May,” Orfe said.

Additionally, Orfe has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City several times, including once last month, as a part of his 20-member chamber orchestra, Alarm Will Sound.

Orfe has also composed several pieces for Bradley musical groups. As the director of choral activities, Jost said his groups have always loved performing Orfe’s compositions.

“We’ve done quite a few of Professor Orfe’s compositions with the Bradley Chorale, including probably the most ambitious piece of his that we did was the piece he wrote for the tenth anniversary of 9/11,” Jost said. “It was supposed to be small scale, but it’s very hard for him to work on a small scale … and it was really an incredible performance.”

Orfe’s works have also been performed by famous orchestra’s in the United States, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Illinois Philharmonic as well as by several international groups.

“He is extremely intelligent and gifted – probably one of the most intelligent and gifted musicians I know,” Jost said.

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