Hailing from opposite corners of the globe, the members of the Merz Trio met in the middle of a snow storm in NYC in December 2016, and now spend the majority of their lives together, rehearsing and traveling.

Their rehearsal room is a noisy fusion of interests: music of all varieties, literature, theater, cooking, dance, running, unnecessarily snobbish ideas about beverages. They love this messiness. They play in living rooms and large halls; galleries and schools; black box theaters and crypts. There are very few places the trio does not feel at home.

“Together, we’ve walked onto stages around the world and are humbled to have been recognized as Winners of the Naumberg, Concert Artist Guild, Fischoff, and Chesapeake Competitions. We understand what we do as a conversation between ourselves, the composer, our audience, and the changing world. Our name, Merz, [is a] term coined by German artist and polymath Kurt Schwitters, who once decorated his parents’ house with found objects and insisted that art only occurred in shared spaces. So Merz refers to connection, to sharing, to possibility. And yes, we’re very glad Schwitters didn’t live with us.”

PROGRAM

• Brahms – Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87
• Brahms – Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
• Brahms – Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8