Pianist, Conductor and Arranger
Private Studio Instructor (Alberta Arts District), Accompanist & Vocal Coach
BA in Music,
University of California Berkeley
MM in Piano Performance,
Portland State University
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Erica Melton has over 30 years of private studio teaching experience, providing private piano instruction to students ages 5 and up. She is the former Music Director and Artistic Director of Opera Theater Oregon (OTO), having worked with the organization since its founding in 2005. During her tenure with the organization, OTO earned a reputation for high musical standards and innovative programming. As Music Director from 2008-2011, Melton transformed the musical element of the company from cabaret-style performances with piano accompaniment to professional-scale productions with chamber orchestra, including an original opera commissioned for the company in 2010. Melton’s arrangements of traditional operas often incorporate electric and popular instruments along with conventional symphonic elements. Melton is particularly interested in novel combinations of instruments that can serve the needs of small opera companies with varied missions and resources.
As Artistic Director from 2011 to 2014, Melton originated and produced eight productions that interwove opera with film, dance, cuisine and fashion, including the company’s first outdoor production, “The Cunning Little Vixen,” performed at Wild Goose Farm in Sauvie Island, and, most recently, “Giasone and the Argonauts,” a high-brow/low-brow fusion of 17th century Venetian opera, haute couture and 1960s sword-and-sandal cinema.
Melton holds a Bachelor of Music from UC Berkeley and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Portland State University. She has worked as a coach/accompanist with Seattle Opera, Portland State University, the University of Portland, Resound NW and Northwest Children’s Theater. Performance credits include Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Mark Morris Dance Group, Berkeley Lyric Opera, Bridgetown Orchestra, Cult of Orpheus and Portland Symphonic Choir, and Melton is a frequent grant panelist with the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC).
Erica Melton 