The Merian Ensemble

The Merian Ensemble is a chamber music ensemble formed by five women of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2019. The group aims to support and spotlight chamber music composed by women by presenting an annual concert series and commissioning a new chamber music work each year. Their name honors the genius of Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717), a brilliant scientist and artist who created intricately beautiful drawings in order to illuminate the tiniest details of metamorphosis. However, her ground-breaking work enjoyed a fraction of the contemporary acclaim or celebrated legacy of her male scientist peers. Her story fuels the ensemble’s passion for bringing obscured music to light, and their determination to celebrate the women composing today. By consistently presenting new and rediscovered repertoire through concerts, recordings, tours, and outreach, the ensemble reveals the volume and value of these works too often absent from the concert stage.