Gruca White Ensemble
Friday, August 15, 2025 6:30 pm
John Streeter Garden Amphitheater, 2122 Williams Road, Wooster, OH 44691
Ohio Regional Music Arts and Cultural Outreach (ORMACO) and the Friends of the Secrest Arboretum continue their summer Music at the Arboretum concert series on Friday, August 15, 2025 at 6:30 pm with the Gruca White Ensemble.
Classical guitarist Robert Gruca and flutist Linda White are comfortable with both written and improvised musical forms, drawing from musical experiences that include rock bands, conservatory training, jazz studies, and new music. Featuring music from multiple cultures and genres, they seek out rarely-heard works from around the globe. 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).
In the event of rain, the concert will be held at Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691. For more information call 419-853-6016.
About the Musicians
Robert Gruca is an exciting guitarist who performs a wide range of solo, chamber, and concerto repertoire. In recent seasons he has toured throughout the US and into Canada. Possessing powerful musical interpretation and complete technical command over his instrument, Robert Gruca has earned several first prizes in national guitar competitions including 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. To date, Robert has published two CDs. In his 2006 debut he recorded solo guitar works by Bogdanovic, Koshkins, Dyens, Rodrigo, Schubert and J.S. Bach. In 2012, Robert completed a recording of several pieces by Handel including some original transcriptions, released on the MSR label in 2012. In addition to performing, Robert Gruca is a highly motivated and dedicated guitar instructor. Robert started the first Suzuki Guitar program in Northeast Ohio at the The Music Settlement in Cleveland, Ohio.
Linda White excels in an array of musical styles and plays the entire spectrum of flutes from the piccolo down to the contrabass flute. She regularly performs with classical guitarist Robert Gruca as part of the Gruca White Ensemble. Comfortable with both written and improvised forms, this duo stretches the boundaries of the standard classical concert with their improvisations and arrangements of rock, funk and Latin tunes. In 2020, the Gruca White Ensemble released their debut recording, A Different Take, through PARMA Recordings Big Round label. An avid chamber musician and champion of contemporary music, Linda regularly collaborates with the composers of The Cleveland Composers Guild and has performed for the new music festival SHE SCORES since 2022. Linda is a founding member of the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, and has also performed with The Cleveland Pops, The Cleveland Opera Orchestra, The Akron Symphony, The Canton Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, and The New World Symphony. An engaging teacher, Linda teaches at The Music Settlement, where she has students of all ages and abilities, and, along with her colleague Jane Berkner, directs two flute choirs. Linda received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wyoming, then moved to Ohio and earned her Master of Music degree from The Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Jeffrey Khaner.