“Merkelo realizing Marsalis-class technical feats. Impossible to list all the admirable specifics…for all the virtues this trumpeter brings to his day job, he is a soloist at heart”
-ClassicalVoiceAmerica.org
"Paul Merkelo's virtuosity and ease of expressive and dynamic versatility [is] simply amazing."
-Classical Music Sentinel
"Indeed, Merkelo’s immediately recognizable virtuosity makes even the most demanding moments sound effortless, with almost- unbelievable velocity never coming at the expense of the music itself."
-The Whole Note
Paul Merkelo is a JUNO-nominated recording artist with six solo recordings, including releases for the SONY and NAXOS labels. Merkelo is featured in a visionary project entitled Gershwin’s World on MediciTV, which combines groundbreaking jazz and classical arrangements.
He has been the solo trumpeter with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) since 1995 and is the first soloist chosen to record a feature album with the orchestra. He has also served as a guest principal trumpeter with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Merkelo was appointed Canadian Musical Ambassador to China for the inauguration of Montreal Park in Shanghai and performed as a soloist with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in a national telecast. Merkelo made his New York debut at Lincoln Center with the New World Symphony Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas in 1998. He has collaborated with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, and Valery Gergiev.
Merkelo’s first solo recording, A Simple Song, was ranked #1 on Quebec’s Classical Recording chart in 2000. In 2004, he released a highly praised second CD entitled Baroque Transcriptions, which was nominated by ADISQ for Best Classical Album of the Year. Merkelo’s French Trumpet Concertos with the OSM and Kent Nagano was nominated by the JUNO Awards for Best Classical Album of the Year – Soloist with Large Ensemble in 2016.
Merkelo gave the Canadian premiere of the Wynton Marsalis Trumpet Concerto and Gabriela Ortiz’s Altar de Bronce for trumpet and orchestra and will premiere a new work by acclaimed film composer Jeff Beal for two trumpets with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. His new project, From Mozart to Miles, links the history of Flamenco music to the classical era and Mozart’s style of composition while paying homage to the famous Miles Davis album Sketches of Spain. This project will be launched with eight different orchestras worldwide. All of these works push the limits of virtuosity across classical, jazz, and world music.
Merkelo has taught at McGill University, the University of Montreal, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Music Academy of the West. 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.
Paul Merkelo is a Yamaha artist.
