Performer, educator, and clinician John Gruber is the newly appointed Visiting Assistant Professor of Trombone at the Oberlin Conservatory, where he will begin teaching in the autumn of 2019. He is also the Principal Trombonist of both the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Second Trombone of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Toledo Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Adrian Symphony, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, the Galliard Brass, and the Brass Band of Battle Creek.
As an educator, Dr. Gruber most recently served as Lecturer of Trombone at The Ohio State University. Previously, he has held teaching positions at Siena Heights University, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles and the Barnesville Exempted Village School District, where he served as Director of Bands. He also serves on the faculty of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in the summer.
Dr. Gruber was the National Brass Division winner of the 2010 Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also performs frequently as a recitalist and as a chamber musician.
A native of Bowling Green, Ohio, Gruber earned his B.M.E. in Instrumental Music Education from Bowling Green State University. He holds both an M.M. and a D.M.A. in Trombone Performance from the University of Michigan, where he also completed a cognate in wind conducting. His teachers include David Jackson, William Mathis, Dan Saygers, Michael Haithcock, and Garth Simmons.
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