Gruca White Ensemble:
Expanding the boundaries of the standard classical experience, the Gruca White Ensemble engages audiences with their creative programming and energetic performances. Featuring music from multiple cultures and genres, they seek out rarely-heard works from around the globe, foster their connections with local composers, and create unique renditions of rock, world, and Latin music. Classical guitarist Robert Gruca and flutist Linda White are comfortable with both written and improvised musical forms and draw from the entirety of their musical experiences, including rock bands, conservatory training, jazz studies, and new music. The ensemble earned rave reviews for their debut album A Different Take, released on Big Round Records in 2020. ”It’s been a thrilling ride around the world…the only common denominator is the superb musicianship and high octane playing of the Gruca White Ensemble”. (Music Web-International March 2021). Robert and Linda are both graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Music and teach at The Music Settlement in Cleveland.
Robert Gruca bio:
Robert Gruca has played solo concerts in Ohio, Michigan, New York, California and Canada, and toured the eastern United States and Europe with The Cleveland Orchestra, performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 under the direction of Franz Welser-Most. He won first prize in the Columbus State Guitar Symposium Competition, the Appalachian State Guitar Festival Competition, and the East Carolina University Guitar Festival Competition. He was a top prize winner in the Rantucci International Guitar Competition and a semifinalist in the Guitar Foundation of America Competition and the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition. Robert studied with John Holmquist and Jason Vieaux at The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received a Master of Music degree. In a 2006 compact disc, he recorded solo guitar works by Bogdanovic, Koshkins, Dyens, Rodrigo, Schubert and J.S. Bach. In 2012 Robert’s second compact disc, Handel Arrangements for Guitar was released under the MSR record label. Robert teaches at The Music Settlement and is proud to have started the first Suzuki guitar program there in the fall of 2013.
Linda White bio:
A dynamic performer and versatile musician, flutist Linda White excels in an array of musical styles and plays the entire spectrum of flutes from the piccolo to the contrabass flute. Linda is an avid chamber musician and champion of contemporary music. A champion for new music, Linda is a member of the Cleveland Chamber Collective, and regularly collaborates with the composers of The Cleveland Composers Guild. Linda also enjoys performing with the flute quartet Idle Twittering along with fellow flutists Jane Berkner, Kyra Kester and George Pope. Linda is a founding member of the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, and has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Pops, Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Opera Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Akron Symphony and Canton Symphony. Linda teaches at The Music Settlement where she teaches individual lessons, directs two flute ensembles and coordinates a program for adult amateurs to gather and play chamber music. She has been a guest clinician for the Interlochen Adult Flute Ensemble since 2020. Linda received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Music degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music.
