Overcoming the Odds: Melissa White’s Journey to Stardom

Melissa White wanted to play violin from age four. When she saw famed violinist Itzhak Perlman performing on Sesame Street, “I was fascinated by how perfectly his chin fit into the instrument’s chin rest, like it was an extension of his body.”

For two years, she begged her mom for a violin. Finally, her mom rented a 1/16 size instrument from a shop in her hometown of Lansing, Michigan, and enrolled Melissa, then age six, in a Suzuki program at the Community Music School at Michigan State University.

Melissa, eager to begin playing the violin, was forced to wait a little bit longer. At her first lesson the teacher handed her a gift wrapped crackerjack box with a paint stick attached to it, and told her that if she could learn how to properly handle it and keep it perfectly intact for two weeks, only then she could graduate to the real thing. “Having the violin I had longed for just sitting in its case, it really motivated me to graduate from the box.”

Unable to make the five hour drive each way, they had to discontinue Melissa’s lessons. She almost didn't play for an entire semester.

It wasn’t the last time she’d be forced to work hard for a breakthrough. In her high school, there was a time when Melissa White almost had to give up violin entirely.

Melissa had been taking lessons at the Music Institute of Chicago (then, the Music Institute of the North Shore), a five hour drive from her home in Lansing. Melissa’s mother, a public school counselor, somehow made it work. By extending her work days Monday-Thursday, she could take a half day every Friday to drive Melissa. They stayed the night, and drove the five hours back. Every week for five years.

During Melissa’s sophomore year, an administrative change at her mother’s school meant she was no longer allowed the flexible schedule. Unable to make the five hour each way drive, they had to discontinue Melissa’s lessons. She almost didn't play for an entire semester. Although her life carried on, she couldn’t help but feel something was missing. She was longing to play. 

She and her family spent the summer figuring out a way to continue her lessons. Eventually she auditioned for and won a scholarship at the prestigious boarding school Interlochen Center for the Arts. She transferred there to complete high school. This ultimately set her on a path to stardom.

“I could barely have imagined, growing up, that I would have the opportunity, as a black woman, to perform a piece composed by a black woman, and at such a notable venue.”

As a teenager, she was already making solo recordings. Her career began to break out when she won the Sphinx Competition in 2001. She eventually auditioned for and was accepted to Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, one of the top-tier music conservatories in the country. She even had the chance to play with Itzhak Perlman and told him about how he sparked her initial interest in the violin.

When asked about her most memorable moment of her solo career, Melissa spoke about performing with the National Philharmonic in February 2020, right before the COVID lockdowns began. She was honored to have a chance to play a piece composed by a black American female, Florence Price's 1st violin concerto. “I could barely have imagined, growing up, that I would have the opportunity, as a black woman, to perform a piece composed by a black woman, and at such a notable venue.”

Melissa loves teaching as a way to give back to the community that has given so much to her. She spends a portion of her time now on faculty at SUNY University at Buffalo, and giving master classes all over the world. Still, you can feel her heart warm when she speaks of Lansing, Michigan. “The community was so supportive of me, helping to provide financial support for my musical education and even going so far as to create an independent study option that incorporated my private violin practice into my public school day schedule.”

In just the past year, Melissa’s performances have spanned from a solo debut at the Aspen Music Festival (during which she also served as conductor of the ensemble) to an eight stop tour of England and Ireland. In 2023 Melissa is scheduled to make her Carnegie Hall recital and Philadelphia Orchestra solo debuts.

Melissa is now working on getting a new violin loan in partnership with Strumenti.com, which is working to raise $315,000 to acquire “The Oliveira” Gagliano c1780 violin. Melissa has been able to start performing with the instrument already. “I have just completely fallen in love. It just takes my playing to the next level. For the first time it’s so much easier for me to get the sound inside my head come out through the instrument. It’s a great match for me.”

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