acclaimed by the Boston Globe as “first-class, with a robust sound and a technique that seems to come from the center of the person”, John McGrosso is the first violinist of the Arianna String Quartet since 1998. He has been presented as a soloist with the Symphony of Chicago and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and has already performed in a recital with critical acclaim in the United States.
For seven years as a member of the first violin section of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mr. McGrosso frequently performed in the series “Chamber Music St. Louis” and “Discovery” by the orchestra, and originated the popular series “On” The Stage” of exclusive public engagement nights. He taught at the colleges of Illinois Wesleyan University, the University of Missouri-Columbia and Eastern Michigan University, and is currently an associate professor of violin at the University of Missouri-ST. Louis, where the Arianna quartet is a starter and resides since 2000.
As a member of the Arianna Quartet, he collaborated with artists such as James Campbell, Gilbert Kalish, Bernard Greenhouse, Richard Stoltzman and members of the Tokyo, Vermeer and Juilliard quartets, and was at the Britt Institute’s Summer Colleges, Madeline Island and music in Port Milford. Mr. McGrosso received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from Juilliard and has a Northern Illinois University artist certificate. He also participated in the Aspen Music Festival, the Steans Young Artist Program in Ravinia and the Quartet Program in Aldeburgh, England.
His violin teachers included Dorothy Delay, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joyce Robbins, Joel Smirnoff and Gerald Beal, and he studied chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Tokyo, LaSalle quartets. and Vermeer.