Oz Merchavy · Piano
Book a Pianist Anywhere in Newfoundland
Oz Merchavy trained as a pianist in Newfoundland and works out of St. John's, with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Memorial University and over a decade of professional experience. Available across the island for weddings, concerts and events.
A Pianist Trained in Newfoundland
Oz studied piano performance at the Memorial University School of Music in St. John's, graduating in 2024 after four years on scholarship, and has been performing professionally for over ten years — solo recitals, chamber music, opera, accompaniment for singers and cellists, and late-night sets with a Latin trio. That training happened here, in this province's halls and churches, which is a different thing from flying a pianist in for the weekend.
The work since has been the whole range of what Newfoundland events ask for: weddings and ceremonies, cocktail hours and receptions, corporate events, galas and festivals, church and synagogue services, house concerts and competitions. The full biography, recital history and recordings live on the main piano page; this one is about getting Oz to your part of the island.
Planning something outside town?
Send the date, the community and the venue. Oz will tell you what the travel looks like and what the day could sound like.
Where Oz Travels
Oz is based in St. John's and available for bookings across the island. The Avalon is a comfortable day trip; further afield is a question of notice and travel time, not of willingness.
- St. John's
- Mount Pearl
- Paradise
- Conception Bay South
- Torbay
- Portugal Cove-St. Philip's
- Bay Roberts
- Carbonear
- Placentia
- Trinity & Bonavista
- Clarenville
- Gander
- Grand Falls-Windsor
- Corner Brook
- Gros Morne
Somewhere not on the list? Ask anyway — most of the island is reachable with enough notice, and destination weddings in the outports are worth planning early. The instrument travels too: Oz brings his own, so the venue does not need a piano. If your event is in the city itself, see hiring a pianist in St. John's.
Sets Built for the Room
Newfoundland venues are not interchangeable. A church in a small community, a hotel ballroom, a heritage property with no instrument at all and a room at a festival each want something different from a pianist. Oz comes on his own with a solo set, or with a band: a jazz trio, a Latin American trio, a duo with a cellist or a singer.
The repertoire spans baroque through romantic and modern classical — Bach, Fauré, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev — American jazz standards, bossa nova and Latin American music, plus original compositions and arrangements. Ensemble experience means quick sightreading and transposing, which is what saves an afternoon when a singer turns up with a chart in the wrong key.
Listen
Quizás, Quizás, Quizás
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Stages & Organizations
A few of the places and organizations that have had Oz at the piano. Most are in St. John's, where he is based.
Training, Scholarships and Prizes
Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2024. Four years of the Procunier Family Scholarship in Music, three years of the Dorothy & David Peters Scholarship, the Margaret Neal Memorial Scholarship, and the R.F. (Bob) MacLeod Memorial Entrance Scholarship. First prize in the Peters Competition, second place at the Kiwanis Music Festival in 2023, and the School of Music Dean's List.
Beyond the province, Oz has performed across Canada and the United States, in a range of venues, events and ensembles.
Booking Questions
Do you travel outside St. John's for events?
Yes. Oz is based in St. John's and travels across the island for weddings, concerts and corporate events. Anywhere on the Avalon is a day trip; for the west coast, central Newfoundland or a spot at the end of a long road, allow for travel time and an overnight, and Oz will factor it into the quote.
We are planning a destination wedding in an outport. Does that work?
It works, and it is worth planning early. The instrument is not the problem — Oz brings his own, so a hall or a heritage property with no piano is fine. What does need settling up front is the schedule, because a ferry crossing or a four hour drive shapes the day as much as the run of show does.
What if the venue has no piano?
Then Oz brings one. The instrument travels with him, which is what makes rooms outside the larger centres workable — a community hall, a heritage property, a marquee, a back garden. Tell Oz what the room has and whether there is power, and the rest is settled before the day.
What music do you play at a Newfoundland wedding?
Whatever suits the room. Classical for a processional, jazz standards and bossa nova through a cocktail hour, something quieter under dinner. Oz writes his own arrangements, so a particular song can be set for solo piano or for piano with a singer or cellist.
Can you play with other musicians in the province?
Yes. Oz has performed in a Latin jazz trio, in classical chamber ensembles, in opera, and as an accompanist for voice, violin and cello. Years of ensemble work mean quick sightreading and transposition, which matters when a singer arrives with a chart in the wrong key an hour before the ceremony.
Get in Touch
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador