Violin
melissa.white@project440.org

Melissa White is a recent graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music where she studied under the direction of Ida Kavafian. The First Place Junior Division Laureate of the 4th Annual Sphinx Competition, she has appeared as a soloist of many of the nation’s leading orchestras, including the Cleveland, Atlanta, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Colorado, New Jersey, Cincinnati, San Antonio Symphonies and the Boston Pops. Her 2006-2007 season opened with an appearance with the Chicago Sinfonietta and a return to Carnegie Hall as a guest soloist at the Annual Sphinx Gala Concert. Melissa recently made a solo appearance with the New York Symphonic Ensemble at the legendary Apollo Theater and was named the 2006 Harmony Scholar by the Panasonic Corporation.

In addition to frequent solo appearances, Melissa is also an active chamber musician. She is a member of the Ritz Chamber Players in Jacksonville, Florida; Jupiter Symphony Chamber Musicians in New York; and the Harlem String Quartet. As a member of the Ritz Chamber Players, Melissa performed live at the 2006 NAACP Image Awards, which was televised nationally. In May 2004 and 2005 she was a featured performer at the Hilton Head International Young Musician’s Festival; a chamber music series hosted by noted pianist Chris O’Riley.

Melissa has also already begun her recording career. At the age of 14, she made her debut with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and internationally-acclaimed conductor Paul Freeman. Her CD recording of “An American Concerto” by Gwenyth Walker on Albany Records is now in record stores worldwide.

Along with Melissa White’s concert activity, in the summer she serves as a member of senior faculty of the Sphinx Performance Academy on the campus of Walnut Hill School. An important part of her career is sharing her music with young audiences and inner city students. She conducts outreach activities around the country when she travels to perform with major symphonies. During this school year she will do extensive work with the Reading, PA public school system and community music programs and finish the year by appearing as a soloist with the Reading Youth Symphony.