Complex sentence: Merritt began a three-year engagement as ensemble member of the Landestheater Salzburg in the fall of 1978, while from 1981 to 1984 he sang as an ensemble member at the Staedtische Buehnen Augsburg in Germany.
Split into simpler sentences: Merritt began a three-year engagement as ensemble member of the Landestheater Salzburg in the fall of 1978. From 1981 to 1984 Merritt sang as ensemble member at the Staedtische Buehnen Augsburg in Germany.