Passion. Grace. Technique. Energy.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Melissa Palichat's passion for music was apparent from an early age. By the time she was 3 years old, she had begun learning the violin. Shortly thereafter, she started piano lessons. After having studied for years under accomplished symphony members and soloists, she has won numerous awards and played with symphonies and quartet groups from all around the world. Under scholarship, she attended Carnegie Mellon University majoring in music performance and continued her education in Miami at New World School of the Arts.

But despite a promising classical career, her passion led her elsewhere. ''As a teenager, I began to hear other sounds and ways that the violin could be played. I began to improvise on themes and melodies that took my playing to a completely different level. By incorporating these sounds with my music, I found that I enjoyed composition - fusing the classical elements of my training with a modern edge. It's about making the connection - bringing the joy I find in the violin to other genres of music."

For Melissa, a Miami-based violinist, composer, and performer, the violin and its unparalleled versatility take center stage. Not only does she play for talented artists and Grammy Award winning producers, she has found a way to make the violin her voice within her own music. With a unique blend of electronic music and original composition, her innovative approach to the violin transcends traditional boundaries and takes one of the world's most thoroughly explored instruments into unexplored territory. However, as a musician, she also does not limit her ability to create only one style  of music. Even though dance and electronic music is the focus of compositions, she also infuses them with elements of classical, rock, jazz, world, hip hop and cinematic music to  create a truly unique form of art and sound.


In her words, ''There are emotions that at times require expressive elements apart from song or symphony. In my compositions and performance, the violin is the visual and acoustic centerpiece through which I try to bring out energy, emotion and beauty from the raw musical elements."

 

Energy.

A central aspect of Melissa's current approach to music is energy. She incorporates it -both acoustically and visually - into her live performances. Some of her compositions are infused with the Eastern rhythms that dominate her Turkish-Ukrainian roots. Because she is a trained dancer, Melissa also likes to integrate elements of dance music into her style, as well as choreographed dance into her live performances.

 

''I like to blend the energy and visual appeal of dance with the exciting array of sounds you can produce on the violin- both acoustically and electrically. The violin is amazingly versatile and impulsive, and whether I am playing in a nightclub or performing on a huge stage, I love seeing that energy reflected in my audience."

Emotion.

Music is unique because its sound can transcend boundaries and transform into emotions. Melissa's music and performances are made to inspire the emotion that draws us to music in the first place. From one genre to another, her flavor of musical fusion appeals to a wide audience.

''The violin is the closest thing to the human voice, and sometimes words are not always needed to explain how you feel."

Beauty.

Aside from the emotions it inspires and the energy it contains, above all else, the violin's beauty is unparalleled. Melissa brings a solid, graceful technique to the instrument, which she uses to communicate the beauty of melody, harmony and rhythm intertwined.

 

''Beauty is what I strive for - the beauty of an old melody, a string on the bow, and a modern sound. My compositions live on it.it inspires my performances. I feel fulfilled as a musician when my listeners experience beauty through my music."

Melissa's heart, mind, and soul are devoted to music and the energy, emotion, and beauty she can convey with the violin. At the end of the day, what's most important is what we create. ''Being able to play my music for others, and to share the powerful emotions it inspires, is all I really want to do."