Melissa found her love of music at the age of 5, when she began studying piano with her mom and, eventually, with a friend of the family. At the age of 10, she enrolled in the Cleveland Institute of Music [CIM] Preparatory Department. There she studied piano with Olga Radosavljevich and music theory with Dr. Marshall Griffith, Joe Ogrin, and Adeline Huss. Melissa continued her musical studies there while attending Padua High School. She was accepted into the CIM Young Artist program her senior year, and earned her Bachelor of Music degree from CIM in 1995. She furthered her education in voice at Baldwin Wallace College and theology at St. Mary Seminary. For the past 23 years, she has directed music ministries within the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. She is married and has 3 children.