MERRILL TANNER, voice
ERNST BIRSS, guitar
Merrill Tanner
and Ernst Birss
(the Colibri Duo) are a voice and guitar
duo from Edmonton, Alberta. They are available for
performance in formal concerts, and at weddings
and other special occasions. The duo's repertoire
includes Renaissance lute songs, music by
classical era composers Mozart, Schubert and
Fernando Sor, music from Spain and Brazil, and
arrangements of contemporary pop songs. Selections from Marjory-Kennedy Fraser’s Songs of the Hebrides (as arranged by
Ernst Birss)
add a Celtic element to their performances. Ernst and Merrill gave their
premiere recital at Holy Trinity Anglican Church
in February, 2006, and have since appeared on the
Acquired Taste concert series, on the Arts Jasper
series in Jasper, Alberta,
at the Shurniak Gallery in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan,
on the St. Albert Chamber Music Recital Series, in
the Edmonton Classical Guitar Society's 20th
Anniversary Concert and many times on the Music
Wednesdays at Noon series at Edmonton's McDougall
Church.
Soprano Merrill Tanner holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Voice Performance, teaches singing privately, and performs in a duo with guitarist Ernst Birss. Her past performances include many recitals for the Wednesdays Music at Noon series with Ernst, and solos with the Chorale St. Jean, the McDougall Church choir and the Saskatoon Chamber Singers. She has also performed with guitarist David Grainger Brown, pianist Bob Casgrain and flutist Tammy Cooper. Merrill has appeared as the Countess in Die Fledermaus (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival), as Monica in The Medium (Saskatoon Opera), as the Mother in The Little Match Girl (Prairie Opera), and in roles in Saskatoon Fringe productions. Merrill is also a registered speech language pathologist and singing voice specialist. In 2012 she completed a PhD that demonstrates the value of "singing voice therapy" for people with Parkinson's disease. For more on Merrill Tanner see: merrilltanner.com.
Soprano Merrill Tanner holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Voice Performance, teaches singing privately, and performs in a duo with guitarist Ernst Birss. Her past performances include many recitals for the Wednesdays Music at Noon series with Ernst, and solos with the Chorale St. Jean, the McDougall Church choir and the Saskatoon Chamber Singers. She has also performed with guitarist David Grainger Brown, pianist Bob Casgrain and flutist Tammy Cooper. Merrill has appeared as the Countess in Die Fledermaus (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival), as Monica in The Medium (Saskatoon Opera), as the Mother in The Little Match Girl (Prairie Opera), and in roles in Saskatoon Fringe productions. Merrill is also a registered speech language pathologist and singing voice specialist. In 2012 she completed a PhD that demonstrates the value of "singing voice therapy" for people with Parkinson's disease. For more on Merrill Tanner see: merrilltanner.com.
To listen to some songs please click on the links below
1/ Scottish Traditional, The Dowerless Maiden
2/ Scottish Traditional, Kirsteen
3/ Thomas Campion, When to Her Lute Corinna Sings
4/ Enrique Granados, El Tralala
For wedding repertoire see the wedding
music page
For more information call 780-482-3741, or send an email to
ebirss@telusplanet.net
For more information call 780-482-3741, or send an email to
ebirss@telusplanet.net
