Melissa Weikart

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Melissa Weikart is a French/American vocalist, pianist, composer, and improviser currently based in Strasbourg, FR. Her musical approach is shaped by her passion for experimental vocal harmony and formative training as a classical pianist. Melissa’s solo songwriting project has been described as a playfully intimate dialogue between voice and piano, inviting listeners into a rich, raw world of twisted melodies and exposed dissonance. After releasing her EP Coffee and live album Testing All My Memories, she has released her debut full length album Here, There, on Northern Spy Records in (New York) in May 2022. She is the recipient of the 2022 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Emerging Artist prize.

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Melissa enjoys collaborating with artists across many disciplines. Upon her arrival in Strasbourg, she formed Beatrice Melissa, a duo making left-field electronic pop, who will release their first EP Surprise in 2023 on Midnight Special Records (Paris). She also DJs, hosting her monthly radio show "Effet Désirable" on Z·est Radio and has mixed on The Lot Radio (New York) and Tsugi Radio (Paris).

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While pursuing her Master’s in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory in Boston (M.M. ’18), Melissa studied with Carla Kihlstedt, Anthony Coleman, Dominique Eade, Ran Blake, and Hankus Netsky, and co-founded the collective Students Advocating for Gender Equity.