Melissa has a passion for teaching grounded in science and healthy use of the voice while achieving the demands of musical theatre performance. Her lessons are specifically tailored to meet each individual singer’s needs and goals through functional exercises.

 

With over fifteen years of singing and performance experience, Melissa is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s Musical Theatre Integrated Program and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) from The New School University. She completed all three levels in Somatic Voicework ™: The LoVetri Method for Contemporary Commercial Music and actively continues to attend teacher training courses with internationally recognized voice teacher Jeannette LoVetri. Melissa also studied vocal pedagogy at the Mannes College of Music with Dr. Kate Maroney and The Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University. An active performer, Melissa has been acting and singing in cabarets, TV/film, and Off-Broadway productions, including principal roles at the Harry De Jur Playhouse, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, and Times Square Arts Center. She is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.

 

Melissa received her Master of Science (M.S.) in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University (NYU) with a specialization in treating the professional musical theatre singing voice and conducting voice-related research. She provided singing voice rehabilitation over telepractice with the Lions Voice Clinic and in-person at Mount Sinai West ENT. Melissa received her certificate in Performing Arts Medicine: Vocal Performance from the Performing Arts Medicine Association and the American College of Sports Medicine. She was trained by Dr. Katherine Verdolini Abbott in Voice Therapy Spectrum (VTS), which includes Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy (LMRVT) and Casper-Stone Confidential Flow Therapy (CSCFT). Additionally, Melissa participated in Dr. Edie Hapner and Dr. Aaron Ziegler's phonation resistance training exercises (PhoRTE) workshop. 


Professional Affiliations:

•National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)

•New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA)

•Somatic Voicework™ Teachers' Association

•The Voice Foundation

•Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA)

•Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA)

•American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Special Interest Group 3: Voice and Upper Airway Disorders

•Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA)

•New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NYSSLHA)

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Research:

•Honors Master of Science Thesis: “Voice Patients with Acid Reflux: Students’ Perceptions of the Efficacy of Lifestyle Changes" with Dr. Celia Stewart, CCC-SLP

•Member of NYU Langone Voice Center's Research Lab with Dr. Aaron Johnson, CCC-SLP