Bassist, Blogger, and Podcaster

John started playing Double Bass at the age of 11. He attended The Juilliard School during high school and was a scholarship student at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana where he studied with Lawrence Hurst. After graduating from IU, he attended the Manhattan School of Music completing his Masters Degree with Timothy Cobb. Mr. Grillo performed at The Tanglewood Music Center from 1994 to 1996. Other festivals include the National Repertory Orchestra, Festival di Due Mondi in Italy, and Pacific Music Festival in Japan.

John is Principal Double Bass of the Princeton Symphony and is a substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  John was a member of the New World Symphony from 1999-2002. His other professional engagements include performances with the New Jersey Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, Wheeling Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and the Sarasota Opera. John was a faculty member with The Pittsburgh Music Academy from 2002-2006. Future engagements include the Iris Orchestra, Philadelphia Virtuosi, Pennsylvania Ballet, The Princeton Festival, The Philly Pops, Opera New Jersey and the Princeton Symphony. Check out John’s interviews on Contrabass Conversations here, or subscribe in iTunes for the interview plus John’s complete recital.

Episodes featuring John Grillo include:

• Ed Barker interview
• The State of the Orchestra
• Differences in Opera and Orchestra Playing
• Opera Excerpt Breakdown
• Orchestral Excerpt Breakdown
• Owen Lee interview
• Max Dimoff interview
• Dan Krekeler interview
• Ranaan Meyer interview
• Lawrence Hurst interview
• Jack Budrow interview
• Barrie Kolstein interview
• John Grillo Recital Showcase
• John Grillo interview