Melissa Williams

Born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, violinist Melissa Williams has been a core member of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra since 2014. She is also a core member of the Houston Ballet Orchestra and has performed with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, National Ballet of Canada, Toronto, Esprit, Saskatoon, and Okanagan Symphony Orchestras. Melissa is featured as soloist on the 2022 release 'Canadian Soundscapes'; on the Centrediscs label, featuring her  live performance with the Okanagan Symphony of the monumental Violin Concerto by Order of Canada recipient Imant Raminsh. It can be heard on all major streaming platforms and via www.canadiansoundscapes.com   She first came to Houston to pursue a  Master’s Degree in Violin Performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music (2012- 2014) with Paul Kantor after completing her Bachelor's degree in Toronto at The Glenn Gould School (with Paul Kantor and Barry Shiffman). She has participated in the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Banff Festival Orchestra, Mannes Institute for Contemporary Performance in NYC, and the Tanglewood Music Centre summer programs, as well as the Kronos Quartet’s professional String Quartet training workshop at Carnegie Hall. Melissa lives in Houston, TX with her husband Erique and their children. Fun facts: Erique and Melissa were married on one of the few days off between Die Walküre performances, Melissa played Saul up until the due date of her first child, and came back to fill in for Magic Flute 3 weeks after having her second child - it’s an opera family!