Melissa holds a Master’s degree in Music from Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance, a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music where she received the Wind Ensemble Award in 2012, and in 2021 she completed her certification in k-12 music education from Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she received the honor of becoming a member of Kappa Delta Pi. She has studied voice with Kathryn Green, Jennifer Cherest-Flory, and Bree Nichols, and studied clarinet with Garrick Zoeter and Sam Caviezel. She currently performs with the Chamber Chorale of Fredericksburg and has performed with companies throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia, such as Bel Cantanti Opera Chorus, Opera Camerata Chorus, Teatro Lirico Chorus, Stafford Opera Troupe where she starred as Cinderella in their 2019 production of Cendrillon, Southern Maryland Light Opera Company Chorus for Naughty Marietta and The Mikado, and starred as Gretel in their 2008 production of Hansel and Gretel, played the role of Mother in the College of Southern Maryland’s production of Ragtime in 2018, and was Puck in Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s 2017 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Melissa has been teaching privately for 13 years and is currently a General Music and Choir director with Charles County Public Schools. She resides in VA with her husband Norman and their daughter Willow.