Melissa Mashner
Adjunct, Department of Performing Arts
Flutist Melissa Mashner has been praised for her “sparkly musicianship, sensitivity, and elegance on the stage.” Previously the President of the Southeast Michigan Flute Association, Ms. Mashner serves on faculty at Adrian College and performs with the Ann Arbor Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Flint Symphony, Dearborn Symphony, Michigan Sinfonietta, and Lexington Bach Festival Orchestras. With international performance experience, Ms. Mashner balances performing, collaborating, and chamber work as an active musician currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
A winner of numerous awards, Ms. Mashner has soloed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra, and Eastman Youth Chamber Soloists, as well as performed in Austria, Canada, and England. In 2024, Melissa was pleased to present the Michigan Consortium Premiere of Alan Theisen’s new flute concerto, L’histoire de la Nouvelle- Orleans, to audiences in Hill Auditorium with the Concordia University Wind Ensemble under the direction of William M. Perrine. Her collaborations with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and composers Jack Nesser, Kenneth E. Kreuzer, and Cary Ratcliff have also resulted in world-premiere performances and several commissioned works. An enthusiastic chamber musician, Ms. Mashner is a founding member of the Angelus Duo, a professional flute and harp duo enjoying engagements throughout the Midwest and Northeastern United States, and is passionate about sharing her experience with children through teaching, mentoring, and new music projects.
In 2015, the National Society of Leadership and Success named Ms. Mashner as winner of the National Dream Support Grant to sponsor further musical study in Vienna, Austria as a flautist and a leader in the collegiate music field. Following a series of concerts in England during the summer of 2015, Ms. Mashner returned to the US where she has performed for the National Flute Convention, Southeast Michigan Flute Association, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Mashner received her Master of Music in Flute Performance from the University of Michigan and Bachelor of Music from Indiana University. Her principal instructors have been internationally renowned artists Amy Porter, Jasmine Choi, and Thomas Robertello. Ms. Mashner performs on a Straubinger Flute and is a native of Rochester, New York.
Ms. Mashner currently lives in Dexter with her husband, Nathan; together, they enjoy traveling, cooking, and being outdoors. melissamashnerflute.com
