“John Cutler Merrill, a retired Baltimore Symphony Orchestra violin player who advocated better contracts for his fellow musicians, died of pancreatic cancer March 31,” writes Jacques Kelly in Saturday’s (4/6) Baltimore Sun. “The Roland Park resident was 75. Born in Rochester, N.Y., he … earned a Bachelor of Music degree at Indiana University, where he was a violin student of Josef Gingold. He received a master’s degree at the University of Hawaii. After playing in the Honolulu Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, Mr. Merrill joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1971. He advanced to a position in the first violin section. While playing, he met his future wife, Julia Barker, a violist. They married in 1981…. The Maryland Senate, which is considering a funding bill for the orchestra, adjourned Monday night in his honor. The legislation is named for him…. Mr. Merrill taught at the Baltimore School for the Arts. Mr. Merrill was a string music consultant to the Baltimore County Public Schools and created an instrumental music program at the Friends School. He also taught at the Essex campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, Peabody Prep and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.” He retired from the BSO in 2013.
Posted April 8, 2018
