Melissa Barlow
MusicWorks! Site Coordinator-The Heights Center
Melissa Barlow, originally from Pennsylvania, has been playing the double bass for over 20 years. She has had the opportunity to perform throughout the United States, most notable the Kimmel Center and Heinz Hall in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA respectively and internationally throughout Europe in England, France, and Spain. While in Pennsylvania she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned her Bachelor’s degree in K-12 Music Education and Double Bass Performance Certificate. Barlow has performed with various professional and community orchestras throughout Pennsylvania including the Altoona Symphony Orchestra, Nittany Valley Symphony and Reading Pops Orchestra. After graduating from Penn State she taught middle school strings in Reading, PA while continuing to perform with the Reading Pops and Genesius Theatre as a pit musician.
Barlow left her position in Reading, PA to pursue a master’s degree at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA. While at Shenandoah she completed her internship with the Play On, Philly! program in Philadelphia, PA and performed with the Conservatory’s Symphony Orchestra and accompanied them on an international performance trip to Spain. After graduating, she accepted the position of MusicWorks! Program Director with the Gulf Coast Symphony in Fort Myers, FL. She is incredibly excited to start this new career path and continue to follow her passion for teaching and performing music. Now in her third year with the MusicWorks! program she has been able to share her passion of music with her students from The Heights Center in Fort Myers in an effort to ensure that every child has access to music education, regardless of their socio-economic status.