Laurie Hatcher Merz

Laurie Hatcher Merz is in her fifteenth year as bassoonist in the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. She is a busy free-lance player in the Twin Cities, performing with many groups, including the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, VocalEssence and Music St. Croix. Merz has performed at the Sarasota Music Festival and was a teaching artist and featured soloist at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival in Germany. Laurie is Professor of Bassoon at Augsburg College and Century College in Minnesota. A strong advocate for introducing children to classical music, Merz performs educational outreach programs for Thursday Musical with her wind trio, The Second Winds, and with fellow Augsburg faculty as the Riverside Quintet.

Laurie graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Bassoon Performance with Distinction from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She received her Master's Degree in performance with honors from the University of Minnesota School of Music and has since cultivated a large studio of talented bassoon students of all ages.