Melissa Martin

Lecturer (Voice)

Soprano, Melissa Zwicker Martin (Lecturer) is an alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Political Science before obtaining a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Martin received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where she was a recipient of the David Reeves Scholarship and the Naumberg Scholarship.

Dr. Martin has appeared in opera, concerts, and recitals throughout the United States and Europe.  Representative operatic repertoire includes roles such as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Musetta in La Boheme, Norina in Don Pasquale, Valencienne in Die Lustige Witwe, Rose Maurrant in Street Scene, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and Gertrude Stein in The Mother of Us All. A versatile performer committed to contemporary music, she was featured in the world premiere performance of James Legg’s The Power of Xingu as Mrs. Garnett.  Dr. Martin also created the role of Joy in the children’s opera, The Araboolies of Liberty Street in conjunction with an arts-in-education community outreach program of New York.  As a supporter of the Soho Think Tank’s mission to nurture, strengthen, and promote a diverse community of independent theater artists, she appeared as Marni in the world premiere of the musical theater production, Child of God, at New York City’s Ohio Theater.

An active recitalist of solo and chamber works, this season will include the premiere of the chamber recital series co-founded with cellist, Jessica Elkhatib, “Cielo e Voce.”  This collaboration was designed to further promote works for soprano and cello, and encourage the exploration of innovative and diverse chamber recital programming.  These recital programs also allow for the creation of inter-disciplinary projects that delve into the artistic expressions of creative women and the texts of poets such as Anna Akhmatova and Toni Morrison.

Dr. Martin has served as a faculty member at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and Peace College as a teacher of applied voice and diction prior to joining the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.