CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The UPEI Department of Music, in partnership with Yamaha Canada Music and the P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra, is hosting a brass masterclass with Paul Merkelow, Montreal Symphony Orchestra principal trumpeter on Monday, Oct. 21, 9:30-11:30 a.m., at the UPEI Steel Recital Hall.
Merkelo’s masterclass will give students of all brass instruments an opportunity to learn from a master performer and teacher. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
A Yamaha artist, Merkelo has been hailed as “the new Maurice André” by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He is also recognized by the Montreal Gazette as a “spectacular soloist... a most impressive master of his instrument.”
Principal trumpet with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) since 1995, he has been featured frequently with the OSM, including tours to South America and the Lincoln Center in New York. He is the first OSM member to be invited to record a debut solo album with that orchestra (French Trumpet Concertos with Kent Nagano).
As an orchestral trumpeter, Merkelo has worked with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta and Valery Gergiev. He been invited as guest principal trumpet in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. As a soloist, he has been featured with orchestras worldwide, including the English Chamber Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Venice Baroque Orchestra and the Eastman Wind Ensemble.
Merkelo’s first solo recording, “A Simple Song” was ranked No. 1 in Quebec’s classical recording chart in 2000. In 2004, Analekta released a highly praised second CD, “Baroque Transcriptions”, which was nominated by ADISQ for best classical album of the year, “French Trumpet Concertos”, with OSM and Kent Nagano, was nominated by the Juno Awards as best classical album of the year–soloist with large ensemble in 2016.
Merkelo is on faculty at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and McGill University in Montreal. He is on the board of directors for the Youth Orchestra of the Americas (Canada) and is the founder of the Paul Merkelo Scholarship, which helps young gifted brass players with financial aid and career guidance.
For more information, please call Dale Sorensen, UPEI Department of Music, at 902-566-0571, or email [email protected].
