Lieutenant Colonel Steven Grimo, Commander/Conductor

Lieutenant Colonel Steven Grimo, Commander of the United States Air Force Academy Band, entered the Air Force in January, 1986. Upon completion of Officer Training School, he was assigned as Deputy Commander and Assistant Conductor of the 539th Air Force Band of the West. His success in that assignment led to selection as Executive Officer and Vice Commander of the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, Lieutenant Colonel Grimo was the Officer in Charge of the USAF Ceremonial Brass and the Airmen of Note.

Lieutenant Colonel Grimo then returned to Texas, this time as Commander of the United States Air Force Band of the West. It was during this assignment that he was promoted below-the-zone to Major. In October of 1998, Lieutenant Colonel Grimo traveled to Anchorage, Alaska to become Commander of the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific. In July of 2001, he became the commander of the USAF of Mid-America at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. On July 16, 2004, he assumed Command of the USAF Academy Band, Colorado Springs,

Colorado. Lieutenant Colonel Grimo is a native of Bristol, Rhode Island. He began his career in music as a percussionist and attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Percussion Performance. Upon graduation, Lieutenant Colonel Grimo began his teaching career as an elementary and junior high school band director for Newton, Massachusetts public schools. He later became Director of Instrumental Music at Wachussett Regional High School in Holden, Massachusetts. While there, he received the National Band Association's Citation of Excellence, and the Stanbury Award of the American School Band Director's Association.

In 1985, Lieutenant Colonel Grimo received his Master of Music Degree in Wind Ensemble Conducting from the New England Conservatory for Music, where he studied with Frank Battisti. He was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Conducting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in May of 1992. Lieutenant Colonel Grimo has numerous published works to his credit and is a nationally active guest conductor and clinician.

Lieutenant Colonel Grimo's military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one oak leaf cluster. Lieutenant Colonel Grimo, and his wife Lisa, reside in Colorado Springs, with their three children, Michael, Jonathan, and Jennifer.