Samu Gryllus’ musical works transcend traditional methodology and traverse a wide range of sound possibilities. He has been using Soundpainting (creating art on the spot) since 2010 as one of his many innovative approaches to writing scores that mix vocal styles, body movement, physical objects, and instrumental experimentation.

As an initiator and leader of many research projects funded under the aegis of the Creative Europe Program of the EU, his focus is on developing transcultural inspiration using multidisciplinary sign-language. In some of his works he operates with his own musically instructed Tarot-cards.

His scores, which resemble architectural drawings, often include audience participation, such as in his recent “Host_Opera” (formerly “Hostage Opera”) where, at the conductor’s cue, voices from the audience respond to the dramatic action. This production, formed via the Vienna-based MuPATh (Music Performance Art Theatre) and the Black Page Orchestra (Vienna) makes creative use of multi-media technology alongside an international cast of singers, actors, and musicians.

A member of many different musical collectives, Gryllus is a co-founder and curator of the Transparent Sound Festival in Budapest, and has been a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna since 2021, and he led the composition department at the Vienna Music Institute from 2013 to 2022. He currently teaches jazz theory and instrumentation at the VMI Conservatory in Vienna as a Senior Artist. He is also a member of the W.H. Performing Band, the Hermina Collective, the artist group IKULT (Internationale Kulturplattform), and the Austrian section of the International Society for Contemporary Music.