 She made her debut as a pianist in Oslo in 1933 with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.In 1939 Ørbeck married engineer Helge Smitt (1906–1985).Her career as a musician and composer was interrupted by World War II, but her song cycle "Vonir i blømetid" (Hope at Blossom-Time) won a prize in 1942 from the Norwegian Society of Composers.