Biography
Melanie was born in Greater Manchester and began the Cello with Sylvia Goodborn at the Tameside Music Centre. From 1995 to 1999 she was a pupil at Chethams School of Music, Manchester where she received specialised training towards her much desired career.Later on Melanie graduated with an Honours Degree from the Royal Northern College of Music (2004) and a Master’s Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2007).
Melanie has performed consistently as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player since starting the Cello. She is a very versatile musician and enjoys performing repertoire from the Early Baroque to the Contemporary.
Cellists she performed to while a student are Ralph Kirshbaum, Steven Doane, Alexander Baillie, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (USA), Lowri Blake, Johannes Goritski, Peter Howard (USA), Andre Emilianoff (USA) and Raphael Wallfisch. Festivals she took part in during her student years are Lake District Summer Music, the Mid-America Chamber Music Institute (Ohio), the Clans Cello School, Emanuel Hurwitz Chamber Course, the International Institute of Music (Germany), Haydn Fest’ (Royal Northern College of Music), Chamber Music with Sergei Fatkouline (France) and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Maine, USA). Awards and Scholarships Melanie has received include those from the Ann Driver Trust, the Emanuel Hurwitz Chamber Music Trust, the Ida Carroll Scholarship Fund (Chethams), Bein and Fushi (USA), the Bowdoin International Festival, 2004 and 2005 (USA), and the San Francisco Conservatory.
In addition to the Performance side of her career, Melanie is a very keen educator. Her teaching experience first began in 1998 when she was sixteen after assisting Miss Anna Shuttleworth twice at the Clans Cello School, UK. From that point her interests in educating continued to grow and following completion of studies at Chethams, she visited schools in Cheshire, Worcester and London to give presentations during 1999/2000.
These presentations consisted of introducing the Cello to children aged 3 to 11, performing for them and then giving them the opportunity of trying out the instrument. During the same year Melanie took private lessons with Anna Shuttleworth (a former student of Pablo Casals) and arranged fifteen recitals for herself within a ten-month period. She performed in Cheshire, Worcester, Manchester, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, London, Derbyshire and Lancashire.
In her undergraduate and graduate years she studied a substantial amount of varied Pedagogy alongside her Performance commitments. These were Kodaly Musicianship, String Pedagogy, Teaching Skills, Music Together and Dalcroze Eurhythmics. The Dalcroze and Kodaly Methods in particular strengthened her cello playing and somewhat changed her concepts towards performance preparation and educating.
During her three years in the USA Melanie was employed by the San Francisco Conservatory to teach for the "Conservatory in the Schools Program". For three consecutive years she taught at the Presidio Middle School where she gave private lessons, coached cello sectionals and chamber groups, arranged music for cello ensemble and performed with and to students.
She also taught and performed for California State University, East Bay in 2007 and was a Preliminary Phase Judge for the Pacific Musical Society in 2008. From 2005 to 2008 Melanie was a member of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra, a unique performing ensemble that brings together Conservatory students/alumni and members of the San Francisco Symphony.
Prior to beginning at the San Francisco Conservatory, Melanie taught at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, USA. There she was awarded a fellowship in 2005 to be Performing Associate to Mr. Peter Howard (former Principal, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra) and gave lessons to specific students in Mr. Howard's class.
She returned to the UK in early September 2008 and the following month became a faculty member at The Music Academy (Sheffield). She also teaches privately in Greater Manchester and performs as a soloist and chamber musician.
Currently Melanie is putting together a book on Cello Technique and is branching out into the Blues Genre with a view to arranging Blues Songs for Cello Ensembles. She currently performs as a soloist and chamber musician and works with producers as a session player.
Melanie is part of two chamber groups, a Piano Trio with John Grundy and Roberto Meoni (The Music Academy), and the Constanze Duo with flautist, Rachael Doyle.