Community Concerts
This concert is free and open to the public.
Performer Information
Soprano Melyssa Rice has performed opera roles, opera/oratorio solos in concert, and art songs in a variety of settings. Companies include Seattle Opera (AGMA chorus); Puget Sound Opera, Kitsap Opera, and Seattle Comic Opera (opera roles); the Minnesota Sinfonia and Hildman String Orchestra (solos with orchestra); and Cornish College of the Arts (guest artist), where she premiered the role of Tituba in the opera Gallows Hill. Melyssa has also performed six solo recitals and in over 20 shared concerts in Minnesota, Washington and Alaska, and is currently a soloist with Thursday Musical. A lifelong learner, her teachers include Janis Hardy, Larry Weller, Erich Parce, Awilda Verdejo and Thomasa Eckert. Melyssa has taught singing since 1992, including adjunct faculty with Seattle Central, South Seattle, Bellevue and Shoreline Community Colleges, and primary faculty at the Music Center of the Northwest. Currently, she has a private voice studio in Prescott, WI, and is faculty at Blessings Academy of Art and Music in Hastings, MN.
A native of Fresno, California, Matthew Harikian holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from St. Olaf College and is currently pursuing Master's degrees at the University of Minnesota in both Piano Performance and Music Theory. Public performances have included solo recitals in Fresno and Turlock, CA as well as concerto appearances with the St. Olaf College and Lompoc Pops orchestras. Matthew most recently participated in Pianofest in the Hamptons, a prestigious summer festival in East Hampton, NY, performing and studying with other international pianists. Sharing an equal interest in both performance and academia, Matthew hopes for his future career to include teaching and researching in the field of music theory while also performing both solo and chamber music. Matthew currently studies with Lydia Artymiw.