Melissa Muñoz is a vibrant and dedicated trumpeter, educator, and non-profit administrator based in New York City. She enjoys playing various genres of music and has performed with The Dallas Winds, New World Symphony, and Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. Melissa has a particular interest in chamber music and competed in the 2020 Virtual Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with Elm Street Brass Quintet. The group advanced to the semi-finals round and received the American Brass Quintet Prize. She is currently a member of the all-woman ensemble eGALitarian Brass, a classical brass quintet by day - brass band with drums by night.

 

Melissa earned her Bachelor of Music degree at The University of Texas at Austin in 2018 and graduated with her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music in May 2020, where she was awarded the John Swallow Brass Prize. Her primary instructors include: Ray Sasaki, Wiff Rudd, Allan Dean, and Kevin Cobb. She also studied at the Colburn School under the tutelage of Jim Wilt. Melissa is currently a fellow in Cleveland Institute of Music's inaugural Future of Music Faculty Fellowship, a program designed to represent “a critical step forward in creating diversity within the music academy and beyond.”

 

Melissa has a passion for education and loves bringing out meaningful musicianship in her students. She has served as Adjunct Instructor of Brass at Cheshire Academy since 2019 and maintained a private lesson studio since 2017. Melissa is a co-founder of Brass Out Loud, an organization dedicated to uplifting the voices of musicians from underrepresented communities. She has lectured on the topic of diversity in the brass world at universities across the U.S. and presented a panel discussion with virtual collaborative performances at the 2021 International Trumpet Guild Conference. Additionally, Melissa serves as Educational Initiatives Coordinator and member of Nova Trumpet Collective, an organization that aims to elevate the trumpet chamber music standard through accessible performance and outreach with an emphasis on diverse representation of musicians and repertoire. Her hobbies include reading, running, and rollerskating.