Stephen Groat, double bassist, graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Before Curtis he attended Towson State University to study and perform, additionally on the electric bass, in Hank Levy’s Jazz Ensemble. He is Principal Bass of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and a member of the bass sections of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Vocal Arts Opera Orchestra (Assistant Principal), and the reborn Philly Pops.
Ongoing freelance affiliations include the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (formerly Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia),the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Reading Symphony Orchestra. He performed for many years as Principal Bass of the Lake George Opera Festival and the Opera Festival of New Jersey, served for 30 years as Principal Bass of the Bethlehem Bach Festival Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, and was a member of the Delaware and Reading Symphony Orchestras, as well as Principal Bass in the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. Additional activities have included performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
