Music
Benjamin composes and arranges music in a variety of genres. He writes choir music as director of the Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers, and writes music both by commission and for personal expression. He has written for stage plays, musical theater, and special events. The pieces on this page can be streamed for free, and are available for download at "Name Your Own Price." Enjoy!
An original arrangement of Amazing Grace. The arrangement is modern and contemporary, yet harkens back to the exploitation of Black and Native people that gave rise to this song. It speaks to the multiracial and redemptive tone of the Amazing Grace story.
An original piano piece commissioned by the Charlotte Project, a multimedia musical theater production that tells the true story of Charlotte Salomon. Salomon was a young Jewish painter who became a victim of Nazi concentration camps in her early twenties.
Contact Benjamin Mertz directly if you'd like original music or choir arrangements
This choir and band arrangement takes "Soon I Will be Done" and overlays a minor adaptation of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." It was written for, and performed by, the Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers. This is a live recording.
Benjamin Mertz is always interested in new composition projects. He also loves setting poetry to music. Feel free to contact him for your performing arts project.