McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellow
Composition
St. Paul, MN
October 2026, four weeks
Metzger is a self-taught musician/instrument builder. In 1974 he built his first instrument while fishing for carp in the Mississippi river out of sticks, a can, and fishing line. He explored recorded music at the library where he heard instruments and music from around the world! These records were his teachers. He bought a pawn-shop banjo and developed ways to make sounds similar to what he heard on those records. That banjo now has 29 strings and is played using various unorthodox techniques. Metzger has recorded over ten albums, toured the USA/Europe, and has twice won the McKnight Fellowships for Musicians.
During his residency, Metzger plans to compose and record new material for an upcoming record and a soundtrack for a documentary.