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Viola

Marvin Gruenbaum

Marvin Gruenbaum is a charter member of the Kansas City Symphony viola section since its inception in 1982. He is also an eclectic string player, having gained notoriety as a Bluegrass fiddler and a Jazz violinist. Additionally, he has taught violin, viola and alternative fiddle styles privately for the past 40 years, and has served as a clinician for fiddle workshops, violin and viola master classes, and jazz camps. Marvin’s violin studies, which began in elementary school, eventually led to an interest in improvisation during high school, where he also served for two years as Concertmaster of his high school orchestra. After high school, he studied Cultural Anthropology and Asian Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, while playing violin in the Washington University Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin. During these years, Marvin was introduced to Bluegrass and Mountain music, and also developed a keen interest in the Jazz violin styles of Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephane Grapelli. Disenchanted with the prospect of a career in the Social Sciences, Marvin decided in 1974 to pursue his musical interests more fully, transferring from Washington University to the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He received his B.A. in Music (Violin Emphasis) in 1978, and continued at UMKC for a M.M. in Viola Performance in 1981. During his time at the Conservatory, Marvin continued to hone his improvisational skills, even adding North Indian Raga styles to his repertoire. He began a short career as a Country/Western fiddle player after graduation, until winning and accepting a position as a violist with the Kansas City Symphony in 1982.

During his tenure with Kansas City, Marvin has been featured as a “fiddle” soloist with the KCS on Jazz and Country/Western arrangements, most notably on his own arrangement of Ervin Rouse’s Orange Blossom Special on several occasions. Concurrently with his KCS tenure, Marvin was the featured fiddle player at Bluegrass festivals from 1986 to 2007 with the Bluegrass group, Spontaneous Combustion. The acoustic 4-piece band produced four CDs, focusing primarily on Top 40 “Oldies” played in Bluegrass style and on jazzy original “New Acoustic” arrangements in the style of David Grisman. Later albums also include some Classical “hits” like Rossini’s Overture to William Tell, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance #5, and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Turkish March, all arranged with a clever Bluegrass twist. During the winter and spring of 1990, his Bluegrass talents took him to Japan for six months with the “Texas Rangers,” on leave from KCS. Marvin currently plays fiddle with 3 Trails West, a 6-piece Western Swing group that was honored with “Western Swing Duo/Band of the Year” award for 2016, both from the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association. He also plays regularly with the popular Jazz ensemble, A La Mode, and with his own trio, The Hot Strings.


Marvin Gruenbaum

Marvin Gruenbaum is a charter member of the Kansas City Symphony viola section since its inception in 1982. He is also an eclectic string player, having gained notoriety as a Bluegrass fiddler and a Jazz violinist. Additionally, he has taught violin, viola and alternative fiddle styles privately for the past 40 years, and has served as a clinician for fiddle workshops, violin and viola master classes, and jazz camps. Marvin’s violin studies, which began in elementary school, eventually led to an interest in improvisation during high school, where he also served for two years as Concertmaster of his high school orchestra. After high school, he studied Cultural Anthropology and Asian Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, while playing violin in the Washington University Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Slatkin. During these years, Marvin was introduced to Bluegrass and Mountain music, and also developed a keen interest in the Jazz violin styles of Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephane Grapelli. Disenchanted with the prospect of a career in the Social Sciences, Marvin decided in 1974 to pursue his musical interests more fully, transferring from Washington University to the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He received his B.A. in Music (Violin Emphasis) in 1978, and continued at UMKC for a M.M. in Viola Performance in 1981. During his time at the Conservatory, Marvin continued to hone his improvisational skills, even adding North Indian Raga styles to his repertoire. He began a short career as a Country/Western fiddle player after graduation, until winning and accepting a position as a violist with the Kansas City Symphony in 1982.

During his tenure with Kansas City, Marvin has been featured as a “fiddle” soloist with the KCS on Jazz and Country/Western arrangements, most notably on his own arrangement of Ervin Rouse’s Orange Blossom Special on several occasions. Concurrently with his KCS tenure, Marvin was the featured fiddle player at Bluegrass festivals from 1986 to 2007 with the Bluegrass group, Spontaneous Combustion. The acoustic 4-piece band produced four CDs, focusing primarily on Top 40 “Oldies” played in Bluegrass style and on jazzy original “New Acoustic” arrangements in the style of David Grisman. Later albums also include some Classical “hits” like Rossini’s Overture to William Tell, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance #5, and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Turkish March, all arranged with a clever Bluegrass twist. During the winter and spring of 1990, his Bluegrass talents took him to Japan for six months with the “Texas Rangers,” on leave from KCS. Marvin currently plays fiddle with 3 Trails West, a 6-piece Western Swing group that was honored with “Western Swing Duo/Band of the Year” award for 2016, both from the Academy of Western Artists and the Western Music Association. He also plays regularly with the popular Jazz ensemble, A La Mode, and with his own trio, The Hot Strings.

Fire and Fury

As a clueless 3rd-grader, I was introduced to the violin by the school music personnel and my parents. I was considered to have a pretty good ear and the violin was thought to be a good fit for me. I played all through my school years (though nearly quit in 7th grade) and in college. As a violin student at the UMKC Conservatory, I was introduced to the viola by my teacher, Prof. Hugh Brown. Although reluctant at first, I soon developed an affinity for the warm sound and range of the viola, and went on to study it as my primary instrument in graduate school.

I would love to have dinner with Brazilian composer Antônio Carlo Jobim, eating some exotic tapas in a cafe in Portugal while he scribbles a soon-to-be-famous new song on a napkin.

My favorite thing about performing music is the profound interplay between instruments, coupled with the satisfaction that comes from executing a difficult solo or orchestral passage really well. In jazz, it is the exhilaration of improvising over complex chord changes and really putting together a cohesive and brilliant solo. It’s what you always strive for anyway: to hear something inspiring in your head and having it come out on the instrument the way you conceive it. In Classical music, it’s taking a beautiful, intricate passage and playing it the way you want it to sound, with all the dynamics and expression you are aiming for.

My main achievement is the ability to improvise fluently in a jazz style. Years of experience have enabled me to read and understand harmonic changes with confidence. Beyond that, I have developed, through an ever more comprehensive internal grasp of harmonies, the capacity to create inspired spontaneous, “right brain” musical ideas which supersede deliberate theoretical analysis.

Kindness, openness, alertness, and friendliness.

I hope that you’ll find me in Jazz Clubs. I am trying to increase the number of dates that I play with my new band, The Hot Strings, in clubs like Jardine’s. I also will be playing some outdoor events like Plaza Live, Zona Rosa Jazz Series, art fairs, etc.

Jack Stack

Kansas City’s best Jazz Violinist

It is rewarding, though it requires intense discipline, and not for the faint of heart.