American flutist Melissa Mashner has been praised for her “sparkly musicianship, sensitivity, and elegance on the stage.” With international performance experience, Melissa balances performing, collaborating, and chamber work as an active musician currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

A winner of numerous awards, Melissa has soloed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra, and Eastman Youth Chamber Soloists, as well as performed in Austria and England. In 2024, Melissa was pleased to present the Michigan Consortium Premiere of Alan Theisen’s new flute concerto, L’histoire de la Nouvelle-Orleans, to audiences in Hill Auditorium with the Concordia University Wind Ensemble under the direction of William M. Perrine. Her collaborations with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and composers Jack Nesser, Kenneth E. Kreuzer, and Cary Ratcliff have also resulted in world-premiere performances and several commissioned works.

 

      An enthusiastic chamber musician, Melissa is a founding member of the Angelus Duo and is passionate about sharing her experience with children through teaching, mentoring, and new music projects. In 2015, the National Society of Leadership and Success named Melissa as winner of the National Dream Support Grant to sponsor further musical study in Vienna, Austria as a flautist and a leader in the collegiate music field. Following a series of concerts in England during the summer of 2015, Melissa returned to the US where she has performed for the National Flute Convention, Southeast Michigan Flute Association, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.

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Melissa is the Adjunct Professor of Flute at Concordia University and Adrian College; previously, she served on faculty as Flute Instructor for the Community Music School of Ann Arbor.  Administratively, Melissa is the President and on the Executive Board of the Southeast Michigan Flute Association.  Melissa received her Master of Music in Flute Performance from the University of Michigan and Bachelor of Music from Indiana University. Her principal instructors have been internationally renowned artists Amy Porter, Jasmine Choi, and Thomas Robertello. Melissa performs on a Straubinger Flute, and is a native of Rochester, New York.