Melissa Danas is a widely sought-after horn player with a successful career as an international performer. A native New Yorker, she studied with Erik Ralske (Principal Horn, The Metropolitan Opera) and later went on to win the prestigious Fulbright Award to study in Vienna with Thomas Jöbstl (Wiener Philharmoniker). She is well-versed in many genres of music, from historically-informed practice to contemporary music, and is proficient on the natural horn, the Viennese horn, and the modern horn. Though she loves to play her instrument in all its forms, it is just one facet of her creativity. In addition to her extensive freelance career as a guest with various orchestras, she is an accomplished visual artist and has curated extensive mixed media projects. Growing up and studying in New York taught her to appreciate the importance of diversity, entrepreneurship, and innovation in music, and these pillars shape her principles as an artist. While she has a deep love and a reverence for the classical tradition, she is committed to broaden it and to make it more inclusive. As a female brass player who has carved out a space for herself in a male-dominated institution, it is her mission to use the ground that she has gained to make a space for others.

​