Oz Merchavy · Piano
Hire a Pianist in St. John's, NL
Oz Merchavy is a classically trained pianist based in St. John's, with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Memorial University and over ten years of professional experience. Weddings, ceremonies, receptions and corporate events, solo or with a band.
Piano for St. John's Weddings and Ceremonies
A wedding in St. John's rarely stays in one room. There is the ceremony, the photographs, the drive across town, the cocktail hour and the dinner, and live piano is the thread that holds the quiet parts of the day together. Oz plays the prelude while guests are seated, the processional and the recessional, and then whatever the evening asks for: standards over drinks, something soft under conversation at dinner, something with more pulse once the room warms up.
Oz has played ceremonies and receptions around the city, in church services, gallery spaces and hotel rooms, and works from your run of show rather than a fixed set list. A first dance, a processional or a song with a family history can be arranged for solo piano, or for piano with a singer or a cellist.
The venue does not need to have a piano. Oz brings his own instrument, so a room with no piano, or one with an upright nobody has tuned in years, is not a problem. There is more about Oz's training, recordings and recital work on the main piano page.
Looking to book a pianist in St. John's?
Send the date, the venue and roughly how long you need music for. Oz will come back with what fits.
Corporate Events, Galas and Public Occasions
Beyond weddings, Oz plays the events that fill the St. John's calendar: conference receptions and industry nights, galas and fundraisers, openings and award ceremonies, holiday parties, church and synagogue services, house concerts and competitions. He has performed for Tech NL and Music NL industry events, for the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, at the Emera Innovation Exchange on the Signal Hill Campus, and at St. John's International Airport.
Years of ensemble work — opera, chamber music, a Latin jazz trio, accompanying vocalists, violin and cello — mean sightreading and transposing on the spot, and a set that can change direction when the evening does.
Listen
Selichot Suite for Piano
More Videos
Repertoire
Oz's classical repertoire runs from the baroque through the romantic and into the modern: Bach, Fauré, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Godowsky. Alongside it sits jazz — American standards, and a particular love of bossa nova and Latin American music — and his own compositions and arrangements, including the Selichot Suite above and an arrangement of J.S. Bach's Musical Offering.
That range is the point. A ceremony, a cocktail hour and a late set want three different things from a pianist, and one evening in St. John's often asks for all three.
Where Oz Has Played in St. John's
A few of the venues and organizations around the city that have had Oz at the piano.
Training & Recognition
- Bachelor of Music, Piano Performance · Memorial University, 2024
- Procunier Family Scholarship in Music · four years, 2020–24
- Dorothy & David Peters Scholarship in Music · three years, 2021–24
- The Margaret Neal Memorial Scholarship
- R.F. (Bob) MacLeod Memorial Entrance Scholarship · 2020–21
- Peters Competition, First Prize
- Kiwanis Music Festival, Second Place · 2023
- School of Music Dean's List · 2021–22
Booking Questions
Do you play events outside St. John's?
This page covers the city and the immediate area. For a wedding or a concert elsewhere on the island, where travel and an overnight come into it, see booking Oz elsewhere in Newfoundland.
How far in advance should I book a pianist in St. John's?
Summer and early autumn weddings tend to be spoken for months ahead, so the earlier the better. Smaller events, house concerts and corporate receptions can often be arranged on shorter notice. Send the date and Oz will tell you straight away whether it is free.
Do you play the ceremony and the reception, or just one?
Either. A common shape is a prelude while guests are seated, the processional and recessional, then a set through the cocktail hour and dinner. Oz builds the timings around your run of show.
Does the venue need to have a piano?
No. Oz brings his own instrument, so a room with no piano is not a problem, and neither is one that has not been tuned in years. If the venue does have a good acoustic grand or upright, Oz is glad to play it — just say so when you book.
Can you learn a specific song for our event?
Yes. Oz writes his own arrangements and transcriptions, so a first dance, a processional or a song that matters to your family can be arranged for solo piano, or for piano with a singer or cellist.
Do you perform with other musicians?
Oz performs solo, in a jazz trio, in a Latin American trio, and in duos with a singer, a violinist or a cellist. Tell Oz the room, the length and the mood, and he will suggest the lineup that fits it.
Get in Touch
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador