Music studio owner, Melissa, loves to teach! Experiences include 0-6 years old general music; fifth-eighth grade band; high school band and high school classes for music theory, music history, sight-singing, aural skills and brass ensembles. Melissa's students have been selected to the Iowa All-State Music Festival and the Iowa All-8th Grade Honor Band. Soloists and ensembles have received consistent Division I "Superior" ratings at Iowa state festivals.
Along with teaching, Melissa loves to perform. Orchestral experiences include the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, Muscatine Symphony Orchestra, St. Ambrose University Orchestra and the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra.
She currently plays in the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band and has been a member of the Iowa City Community Band, LeMars Community Band, Waterloo Municipal Band and the Siouxland All-America Band.
Musical theatre experiences include South Pacific, Anything Goes, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, A Sondheim Gala, La bohème, Oklahoma, Into the Woods, State Fair, The Music Man and The Nutcracker.
While studying at Wartburg College, earning her Bachelor of Music Education Degree under the direction of Dr. Craig A. Hancock, the band traveled and performed in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. They also traveled outside of the United States, touring Europe: Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Great Britain. Under the direction of Dr. Myron Welch, earning her Master of Music Degree in Trumpet Performance, the Symphony Band at the University of Iowa performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Professional affiliations include the Iowa Bandmasters Association, Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association and the Iowa State Education Association. Melissa is also the Southeast Area Chair of the Iowa Music Educator's Association.