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About Dr. Melissa Sky-Eagle
Melissa began piano studies at age six. From 1993 to 2001, she studied with John Owings, Herndon Professor of Music at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas. At the age of fifteen, she traveled to Russia and studied piano with Dr. Ludmila Roschina at the Moscow Conservatory of Music. She made her orchestral debut performing the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major, under the baton of Maestro Ron Spigelman, assistant conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
She successfully participated in numerous piano competitions at the local, state and national levels. She has been a performer and scholarship recipient in many distinguished keyboard programs, such as the New Orleans International Keyboard Festival, the Chautauqua Piano Institute in New York, the Russian Pianism Academy, the TCU/Cliburn Institute, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas’ Inaugural Piano Institute.
Tutored by her mother from kindergarten through 12th grade, Melissa received her high school diploma from the University of Nebraska Independent Study High School. She was the first home-schooled National Merit Scholar in North Texas. Her biography was published in Who’s Who Among American High School Students. In the fall of 1997, Miss Sky-Eagle entered Texas Christian University, as a Dean’s Distinguished Scholar and the recipient of the Nordan Fine Arts Award. At TCU, she maintained a 4.0 Grade Point Average, and graduated first in her class in 2001, receiving a Bachelor of Music Summa cum Laude in piano performance. Melissa was selected for inclusion in The National Dean’s List for Outstanding College Students, designated a USAA All-American Scholar, and named to the 2000 and 2001 USA Today College Academic Teams. In her senior year, she was chosen to represent the School of Music on the Chancellor’s Commission for the Future of TCU. Dr. Sky-Eagle is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda (academic fraternity for music students), Alpha Lambda Delta (academic honor society), Golden Key National Honor Society, and the International Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity for music students, which honored her with its Marian Bowker Davidson Accompanying Award. As the winner of TCU’s Concerto Competition during her senior year, she performed the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto with the TCU Symphony Orchestra. Melissa received her Master of Music degree in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD in 2003. She was the recipient of a Michael R. Bloomberg Scholarship and Graduate Teaching Assistantship. She studied piano with Seth Knopp, keyboard faculty member and pianist for the Peabody Trio. While at Peabody, she made her international performing debut in a duo-piano recital in Kingston, Jamaica. She was also the accompanist for the New Wave Civic Chorus of Baltimore and the Singing Baptist Women of Maryland-Delaware. In 2003, she was admitted to the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Southern California Flora L. Thornton School of Music. Nominated by the School of Music, she received both the prestigious USC Town and Gown academic scholarship and the Dean’s Performance Scholarship. She returned to Fort Worth as the piano soloist in the Beethoven "Choral Fantasy" with the TCU Symphony Orchestra and Choirs. Actively involved in keyboard collaborative arts, Melissa frequently collaborates with vocal and instrumental musicians. In March, 2007, she was invited to be the collaborative pianist for the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in Palm Desert, California. In 2006, pursuing a life-long love for musical theater, she became the musical director and keyboardist for Class Act Musical Theater in Woodland Hills, CA. She has performed in productions of “42nd Street,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Bat Boy,” “Into the Woods,” High School Musical”, “Cabaret," "A Chorus Line," "Chicago," "Rent," "Hair," and "Avenue Q." She was keyboardist for the world premier of “American Dreams” at the Eclectic Company Theatre in North Hollywood. She performed in a production of "Grease." The cast featured John Melendez of "The Tonight Show" as Danny, Ming Na of "ER" as Sandy, and Ross"The Interim" Mathews as Teen Angel. She was invited to be the Musical Director for three LA Valley College productions, "Spring Awakening," "Love(sick)" and "Avenue Q." From 2015-2020, she was Musical Theater Music Director at A Noise Within Theatre, Pasadena, California. She was Music Director and accompanist for two productions of "Man of La Mancha," Music director for "A Christmas Carol" (three productions), "Argonautika," "A Tale of Two Cities," and "Henry V;" awarded “2017-2018 Outstanding Music Director of a Play” by Stage Scene LA for "Henry V." She was also Rehearsal pianist and keyboard I for "The Threepenny Opera." A Native American, Melissa is the daughter of Bill and Ivy Jean Sky-Eagle. During her formative years, she traveled internationally with her parents in their family ministry of music evangelism. Her interests include performing for all sorts of “gigs,” collaborating with other musicians and serving as a church musician. She also enjoys arranging and performing her piano arrangements of worship music, and has released two compact disk recordings, "Piano Worship and Praise" (2004) and "Christmas Joy!" (2008). Click here for a pdf of Melissa's curriculum vitae (CV) |
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