[1] Born in Brechin, and educated at Loretto School,[1] he studied the organ at the Royal College of Music in London under Walter Galpin Alcock, and piano with Arthur Benjamin.
Following studies with Alfredo Casella and Nadia Boulanger in Paris he returned to Cambridge in 1938 as Organist of St John's College, succeeding Rootham.
[14][15][2] And Orr also made a substantial contribution to Anglican church music, much of it written for St John's College.
[7][16] A CD of his orchestral music, including the Italian Overture (1952), From the Book of Philip Sparrow for soprano and strings setting John Skelton (1969), Rhapsody for string orchestra (1958) and Journeys and Places for soprano and orchestra setting Edwin Muir (1971) was issued in 2000 to mark the composer's 90th birthday.
[19] The chamber music shows a growing maturity of compositional technique and intensity of feeling, especially after the war (for instance in the slow dolente movement of the 1947 Violin Sonata).
[7] It was first performed at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 6 December 1991 by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Feodor Glushchenko.