Proficient on both piano and violin, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, following up with composition studies at Wellington University in New Zealand. Based in New York City, the composer also runs the Urban Classical record label and edits NewBohemia, an online webzine. Gruss believes classical music should honor the present and the future at least as much as it does the past, and his tonal compositions are accessible examples of this synthesis, mixing traditional classical components with folk influences and urban rhythms. His first independent release, Bellatrix, available only online, came out in 2004. ~ Steve Leggett