STANLEY GRILL IS A CLASSICAL COMPOSER whose passion for medieval and Renaissance music has greatly influenced his writing. Two main themes permeate many of his works – music composed in an attempt to translate something about the nature of the physical world, and music composed to inspire and promote world peace.

Stan’s music has been performed the world over – from Ecuador to Poland; Toulouse to Tokyo; Brooklyn to Vienna – by such artists as New World Symphony, Camerata Philadelphia, Camerata Arkos, Duo+ Ensemble, Englewinds, Pandolfis Consort, Umbria Ensemble, Diderot Quartet, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, One World Symphony, violists Brett Deubner and Ralph Farris, and violinist Jorge Avila.

He learned his craft from extraordinary musicians: among others Robert Helps, Leon Kushner, Ursula Mamlok and Joseph Prostakoff. Stan’s passion for medieval and Renaissance music has greatly influenced his writing – a contemporary expression of ageless techniques based on melody, modal harmonies, and contrapuntal, extended, interweaving lines.

"A SMALL, BLUE EDITION OF HART CRANE'S MASTERPIECE, THE BRIDGE, has been living in my library for decades. The thought of doing something musically with it popped into mind now and then, but I never quite mustered the courage to do anything with it. However, during these days of coronavirus driven isolation, when the importance of human connectedness, so aptly symbolized by the image of the bridge, has been hammered into our consciousness, the time had come.

Announcing the upcoming release of my latest album, THE BRIDGE, a fantasy for viola and orchestra inspired by Hart Crane’s epic poem of America. A premiere recording with the brilliant violist, Brett Deubner and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice conducted by Marek Štilec. Available on streaming sites beginning on March 31, 2023.

In this music, dedicated to my friend and long-time musical collaborator Brett Deubner, the solo viola is the voice of the Bridge itself, its rich middle range spanning between the low and high instruments, between the dark, swirling eddies of water the flow beneath the Bridge to the searing sunlight piercing the harp-like cables of the Bridge, while seagulls soar overhead. It also is the voice of the poem’s author, seeking redemption in a violent and crassly commercial world."