Jon Jeffrey Grier

Jon Jeffrey Grier holds a B.A. from Kalamazoo College, an M.M. in Composition from Western Michigan University, and an M.M. in Theory and a D.M.A. in Composition from the University of South Carolina, where he studied with Dick Goodwin, Sam Douglas, and Jerry Curry. He was Instructor of Music Theory, History, and Composer in Residence at the Greenville Fine Arts Center, a magnet high school of the arts in Greenville, South Carolina, from 1988 to 2019, where he was voted Teacher of the Year three times. He continues as an as-needed adjunct instructor at the FAC and as a board member of the Sigal Music Museum in Greenville. Jon was the winner of the 2024 Renee Fisher Piano Composition Competition, the 2021 Tallā Rouge International Composer Competition, awarded the 2016 South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowship in Music Composition, the 2016 Composer Commission from the South Carolina Music Teachers Association, the 2014 Carl Blair Award for Excellence in Arts Education from the Metropolitan Arts Council, and winner of the 2009 Rapido! Composition Contest sponsored by the Atlanta Chamber Players. He has composed commissions for the Greenville Symphony, the Kandinksy Trio, Virginia Tech pianist Rick Masters, October Sky Ensemble, and the Michigan Music Teachers Association, among others. His works are published by Keiser-Southern Music, North Star Music, Imagine Music, Manduca Music Publishing, Kjos, and Tetractys music, among others.
In retirement from teaching, Jon continues avidly composing chamber music, songs, and jazz. Jon has played in various jazz and fusion ensembles in Greenville, where he lives with wife Marion and street rescue dog Roxanne.
Much more information, including a complete list of compositions, is available at
www.newertunes.com.