Opening the upcoming season for Music on Norway Pond in Hancock will be the “riveting” and “impressive” Merz Trio from New York City. Formed in 2017, pianist Lee Dionne, violinist Brigid Coleridge, and cellist Julia Yang have quickly emerged as a unique and award-winning ensemble, winning the 2019 Concert Artists Guild Competition and garnering the Gold Medal at the 2019 Fischoff Competition as well as the First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2018 Chesapeake Competition.
“Once again, much to my great delight, we have managed to attract an off-the-charts, insanely creative, and joyfully virtuosic ensemble to Norway Pond,” said Artistic Director Jody Hill Simpson. “Sometime I just have to pinch myself to make sure it is really happening!”
Currently the Professional Trio in Residence at the New England Conservatory in Boston and the recipients of several NEC Entrepreneurial Musicianship Grants, the Merz is committed to passionate, original playing, and thoughtfully curated programming, often in the form of interdisciplinary collaboration.
In addition to their MONP concert, the trio’s 2019-20 season includes performances at Boston’s Jordan Hall, NYC’s Sheen Center, and the Chicago Cultural Center. Past major appearances include the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, the Melbourne Town Hall, and Aldeburgh’s Jubilee Hall.
Like all MONP concerts, the Merz Trio performance will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24 in the Old Meeting House in Hancock. There is no intermission for the (roughly) one hour performance, and tickets are available at www.musiconnorwaypond.org and at the door. Cost is $25 or $100 for the entire 2019-20 season running fall through spring. Students are free.