Zuriel Merek
Zuriel began playing the violin in 4th and 5th grade public school orchestra class and started private lessons at age eleven. Growing up, he was definitely not the type of kid that dreamed of pursuing a performance career. A shy and studious child, he envisioned himself becoming an attorney, architect, historian, veterinarian, lawmaker, or a dozen other “safe” career choices as an adult. Nevertheless, during his musical formation Zuriel always had the urge to resist the constraints of rote classical training and seek originality. By high school, he was the guy who, to combat boredom in orchestra class, taught himself viola and played impromptu harmonies and other instruments’ parts when the conductor wasn’t looking. Zuriel remembers being inspired by his singer/songwriter sister Charissa to try his hand at improvisation and popular music. When he earnestly asked her if he could play in her rock band, she replied, “Yes, Zuri, when you can make the violin sing.” Thus began a quest to find his own authentic musical “voice.”
In college Zuriel bought his first electric fiddle, experimented with a plethora of electric guitar effects, and joined his first band, an indie pop-rock outfit called Made Fresh Daily. He spent the next few years developing his improvisational abilities and playing musical genres as diverse as classical, jazz, house, country, Celtic, folk, rock, and metal with dozens of outstanding bands and artists in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. After taking on the lead instrumentalist role in a few regionally established acts and experiencing the hardscrabble life of a touring musician, Zuriel decided it was time to branch out as a solo artist and composer in 2010.
Currently Zuriel is promoting the new record and continues to perform, record, and tour as a solo artist and with other exceptional local and regional acts.
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