From 1889 until 1895 he served as the organist of St. Paul's Procathedral in
Los Angeles; after this he returned home, teaching for one year at the
Philadelphia Conservatory. From 1896 until 1905 he taught at the
Combs Conservatory of Music. In 1900 Orem began a long association with
Theodore Presser, serving as a music critic and editor for the publisher while conducting the Presser Choral Society. From 1901 until 1910 he again worked as an organist, this time at the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church. Orem also wrote theory books, including 1919's
Harmony Book for Beginners, and compiled nine books of musical exercises. It is for these that he is chiefly remembered. As a composer, Orem was less interested than many of his contemporaries in the Indianist movement; still, as it was in fashion, it seems to have held a certain fascination for him. He is numbered among its members mainly because of his
American Indian Rhapsody, his most popular work. Originally written for piano, but later scored for full
orchestra, it contains reference to the music of the
Cheyenne,
Kiowa,
Sioux,
Chippewa,
Pueblo, and
Cree tribes, and is based on themes recorded and suggested by
Thurlow Lieurance. The
Rhapsody has been described as very much a period piece, stylistically conventional and eclectic, post-
Romantic and neo-Lisztian in its mannerisms and pretentiousness, its plethora of
trills,
arpeggios,
broken chords, and repeated
octaves (often thunderous), and its bravura display of virtuosity, with indications ranging from
molto maestoso to
allegretto scherzando, from
andante affetuoso to
allegro con brio, from
amabile to
feroce (the savage!). It is probably the most far-out Indianist composition ever written. Orem composed other works as well, including a piano quartet, a quintet, large numbers of songs, some works for piano, and numerous transcriptions and arrangements; among the latter is a movement from one of
Johann Sebastian Bach's solo
cello suites, arranged for organ. Orem died in Philadelphia in 1938. In addition, the piano version of the
American Indian Rhapsody may be found on a
New World Records release of American romantic piano music. Orem was credited by the
Summy Company in 1935 with co-authoring the song -
Happy Birthday to You. ==Personal life==