Biography

    Performer, educator, conductor and clinician John Gruber is Assistant Professor of Trombone at the Oberlin Conservatory.. Dr. Gruber is also Principal Trombonist of both the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and the Akron Symphony Orchestra.

    John was the National Brass Division winner of the 2010 Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He has performed as a soloist at the International Trombone Festival in both 2019 and 2023. He also performs frequently as a recitalist and as a chamber musician.

    As an educator, he has held positions at The Ohio State University and Siena Heights University.  Previously, he has held teaching positions with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles and the Barnesville Exempted Village School District, where he served as Director of Bands. John also serves on the faculty of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.

    John is a native of Bowling Green, Ohio, where he 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. John’s teachers include David Jackson, William Mathis, Dan Saygers, Michael Haithcock, and Garth Simmons.