Melissa began her college career with a B.A in music education from The College of New Jersey, followed by a M.M in horn performance from Baylor University.  After graduating Baylor she moved to Asheville, NC where she played in the Asheville Symphony, the Greater Spartanburg Philharmonic, taught in the public school system, and was a lecturer in horn at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC.  In 1998 she moved to Kansas City to pursue her doctorate and began playing in the annual Colorado Mahler Festival in Boulder, CO.  Melissa finished her D.M.A at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2001 and began working for the Conservatory as their manager of concert activities. While living in Kansas City she was a founding member of the Fountain City Brass Band, and performed with the Kansas City Ballet and St. Joseph Symphony. She has presented lecture-recitals at the Great Plains College Music Society and at Missouri Horn Day.

After getting married in May 2003, she gave up the high life in Kansas City to move with her husband to Wayne, Nebraska where she currently teaches horn and music appreciation at Wayne State College.  She has most recently performed with the Sioux City Symphony and A Touch of Brass.