Brigid Coleridge is an Australian violinist and poet. At present, she divides her time between the USA and Australia. An “entrancing” (BBC Magazine) and “dynamic” (Classic Melbourne) performer, Brigid’s recent notable performance debuts have included Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw, and her playing has been broadcast across the US (WQXR), Australia (ABC Classic FM, 3MBS) and Europe (BBC Radio 3, and Radio 4 Netherlands). Brigid’s poems have appeared in Australian and international publications and she is the winner of the 2023 Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize. 

Brigid is the violinist and a founding member of the critically acclaimed US-based Merz Trio. The trio won the 2021 Naumburg Competition and the 2020 Concert Artists’ Guild Competition, and their first album INK debuted at #2 in the Classical charts. From 2018-2021 the Merz Trio was in professional residence at the New England Conservatory, and the ensemble has undertaken further residencies in the US (at Yellow Barn and Avaloch Farm Institute) and in the UK (at Snape Maltings). Renowned for their innovative programming and fresh, nuanced interpretations, the Merz Trio made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2023. They have been featured on BBC Radio (UK) and WQXR (US).  Merz Trio is represented by Epstein Fox Performances. 

As a recitalist, Brigid has performed internationally in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Jordan Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Purcell Room, and at festivals such as Yellow Barn, Olympic Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Lake Champlain, and Chesapeake Festival. She has been a solo artist in residence at Yellow Barn and Avaloch Farm Institute in the US, and will undertake a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland in 2024.

As an artist who works in multiple mediums, Brigid is committed to interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration. Her recital projects often combine her interests in music and literature, with particular attention paid to the theatrical possibilities of performance.  Aside from her interdisciplinary work, Brigid understands “conventional” recital programming as a serious and creative discipline: her programs are known for their unexpected connections, musical diversity and lively sense of dramatic narrative.

In addition to her performance work, Brigid is a practised communicator and experienced tertiary educator. She has a particular interest in chamber music coaching and has taught masterclasses in chamber music and violin performance at undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level across the US and in Australia, at institutions including the New England Conservatory, Rice University, and the Hartt School. As an academic classroom educator, she devised and taught music history and appreciation curricula at Lehman College, CUNY (NYC). Brigid is also a frequent public speaker, panel participant and interview guest. Her Merzbau Podcast - a conversation series with eminent musicians, composers, and music educators - in its first season explored ideas of artistic practice through the cross-disciplinary prism of  non-musical works of art nominated by her musician-guests. 

Brigid obtained a doctoral degree from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where she worked on Beethoven’s late Mass, the Missa Solemnis, under the supervision of Professor Scott Burnham. Her academic interests include music performance in the context of performance studies, language and music, embodiment, space-specific sound, and theories of translation. Brigid also holds an Artist Diploma and a Master of Performance degree from the Royal College of Music (London) and a Diploma in Chamber Music from the New England Conservatory (Boston). She graduated BA/BMus from the University of Melbourne following studies in English Literature, French Language, and Violin Performance. Her important musical mentors have included Donald Weilerstein, Daniel Phillips, Vivian Weilerstein, Mark Steinberg, Ulf Schneider, Maciej Rakowski, Mark Mogilevski, Gerhard Schulz, Isabel Charisius, Geoff Nuttall and Alasdair Tate.