Samu Gryllus’s musical works transcend traditional methodologies and traverse a wide range of compositional and sonic possibilities. He has been using Soundpainting (a real-time composition sign language) since 2010 as one of his many innovative approaches, alongside other unique techniques, to communicate even with diverse groups of performers. His scores are often mixtures of traditional Western notation and other methods, including written instructions, audio scores, drawings, and other graphic elements, within a performative framework.
He studied composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Michael Jarrell, as well as Alvin Lucier, Anthony Braxton, and Ron Kuivila at Wesleyan University (USA) as a Fulbright Scholar. He finished his doctoral studies (DLA) at the University of Theater and Film Art in Budapest in 2019. His research area is the multidisciplinary performance art and instrumental theater.
Gryllus has participated in the masterclasses of George Aperghis, Péter Eötvös, and Jonathan Harvey, and has received ten major grants during the years 2008 to 2021. His works have been performed in festivals around the world, such as Wien Modern and Bartok Festival, and venues like Carnegie Hall, and Wiener Konzerthaus. He has composed chamber operas commissioned by the Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation, Sophiensaele Berlin, Theater an der Wien, and the Hungarian State Opera. His interactive installations have been exhibited at Brooklyn Museum of Arts in New York City, Ludwig Museum Budapest, and Tallin Architecture Gallery.
As an initiator and leader of numerous artistic research projects, and other works under the aegis of Creative Europe, his work focuses on developing transcultural forms of expression using a multidisciplinary artistic language. His works often include audience participation, such as in his recent “Host_Opera,” where, at the conductor’s cue, voices from the audience respond to the dramatic action. This production was highlighted as a participant in the 2026 ORBIT Music Festival in Köln, Germany.
A member of various musical collectives, Gryllus is a co-founder and curator of the Transparent Sound Festival in Budapest. He led the composition department at the Vienna Music Institute from 2013 to 2022. Since 2021, he has been teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw), where he currently holds a Senior Artist position.
