“Merkelo, nimble-tongued and acute in the outer movements, is at his finest...”
-Gramophone
"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 artist with six solo recordings for the SONY and NAXOS labels. He has been the solo trumpeter with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal since 1995 and is the first soloist chosen to record a feature album. He has also served as a guest principal trumpeter with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Merkelo was appointed the Canadian musical ambassador to China for the inauguration of the Montreal Park in Shanghai and as a soloist with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in a national telecast. Merkelo made his New York debut at the 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, Analekta released a highly praised second CD, "Baroque Transcriptions" which was nominated by ADISQ for the Best Classical Album of the Year. "French Trumpet Concertos" with OSM and Kent Nagano was nominated by the JUNO Awards as the Best Classical Album of the Year – Soloist with Large Ensemble in 2016.
Recently, Merkelo gave the Canadian premiere of the Wynton Marsalis concerto and the Gabriela Ortiz concerto 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." Paul will launch this project with eight different orchestras worldwide. All of these works push the limits of virtuosity between classical, jazz, and world music.
Paul is on the faculty at the Music Academy in Santa Barbara, CA, and the OA Academy, a cutting-edge online education platform eligible for diploma accreditation. 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.
