John Pellegrino, bass
John Mark Pellegrino is the Acting Principal Bass of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Since joining the CSO in 1989, John has performed regularly in the Grand Teton Music Festival and in the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County. Frequent calls from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony have allowed Mr. Pellegrino to play, tour and record with those ensembles. Other past orchestral appearances have included concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, the Lake Placid Symphonietta, the New York Virtuosi and the Philharmonia Virtuosi. Before moving to Ohio, John was a section member of the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra.
In second grade, John was introduced to the mono-lin by the instrument's inventor, Rhode Island College professor Robert Currier. After teaching a classroom full of youngsters on this one-string instrument, Currier assigned the cello to John. Private instruction began, shortly after beginning the cello, with his aunt, Carol Pellegrino. With the help of Carol, (and parents) John and Alice Pellegrino, a deep love and appreciation for music and teaching began -- ultimately leading to discovering the double bass in high school. After a few years of hard work, private instruction from Richard Lupino and David Cobb, and strong encouragement from Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra conductor Nedo Pandolfi, John moved to New York to earn an undergraduate degree from Manhattan School of Music and a masters degree from the Juilliard School of Music.
John has enjoyed teaching on the faculties of Ohio Wesleyan University, the Eastern Music Festival, the Warwick Music Festival, Kinhaven Music Camp in Vermont and The Chamber Music Connection in Worthington, Ohio. In 2008 John was awarded Ohio Private/Studio Teacher of the Year by the Ohio String Teacher's Association. Some of Mr. Pellegrino's top students have gone on to win competitions held by the International Society of Bassists, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Ohio String Teachers Association, Interlochen Arts Camp and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In 2007, John was named Artistic Director of Music on the Hill, a unique music festival that takes place in Rhode Island, during the first two weeks of June.