Pronunciation of "Orator"

[mlazor]

I'm aware that the usual pronunciation is ˈ/ɒrətə/. But recently in a video I was quite sure I heard it pronounced ˈ/ɒreɪdə/.
Concerning only the mid-vowel sound, are there any differences in pronunciacion among English dialects that any of you may know of? Is the mid-vowel sound always a scwha? Thanks

 

[emsr2d2]

Forvo.com is a great website for hearing real people's recordings of millions of words. Choose English from the list of available languages, then type the word you want to hear in the Search box.

This is the result for "orator". There is a recording from a speaker in Canada, one in Australia and one in the UK.

 

[jutfrank]

The second syllable (middle vowel) is only a schwa if you stress the first syllable. Some people, myself included, stress the second syllable, in which case the first syllable is a schwa and the middle vowel is an /ei/

 

[emsr2d2]

I put the stress on the first syllable in "orator" and on the second syllable in "oration".

 

[Tdol]

I do the same as Emsr2d2, but I hear all sorts of things pronounced differently nowadays. We seem to be moving in times of flexible stress and sounds.