Melanie Riordan

Violinist Melanie Riordan is a performer and educator based in New York City. For the last
decade she has spread the joy of music through her versatile performances and strong
educational efforts. She has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls, and taught
hundreds of students across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

Faculty since 2025

A devoted educator, Dr. Riordan held the position of Adjunct Professor of Violin at Florida
Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida from 2019-2021. Passionate about the power of music
to empower marginalized communities, Melanie served on an advisory panel to create and
launch the Houston Youth Symphony Coda Music program and taught at Sistemang Pilipino in
Cebu City, Philippines, two programs inspired by the famed “El Sistema” music education
model, which provides free music education and instruments to underprivileged and at-risk
children. Additionally, she is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Summer Strings Academy
for Girls, an online summer festival for female-identifying string students from around the world.
Melanie received her pedagogical training from Mimi Zweig, Brenda Brenner, Rebecca Henry,
Charles Krigbaum, Edmund Sprunger, and Ed Kreitman. She received her Doctoral of Musical
Arts degree from Stony Brook University, her Master of Music degree from McGill University,
and her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon Universiry.

Captivated by various styles of early music, Melanie enjoys a career focused on historically
informed performance practice, regularly appearing with Baroque ensembles such as Canada’s
L’Harmonie Des Saisons, Houston’s Mercury Baroque Chamber Orchestra, Ars Lyrica Houston,
Florida’s Seraphic Fire, and Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian Academy Orchestra and Opera
Lafayette. She has performed on the Columbia Sacred Music concert series, served as
Concertmaster for the Amherst Early Music Festival, and has attended the Virginia Baroque
Academy and Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. She is grateful for her early music mentors,
Harpsichordist Arthur Haas and Violinist Beth Wenstrom.

She currently teaches at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, and Hoff Barthelson
Music School in Scarsdale. When she is not performing or teaching, she enjoys practicing
Aikido, hiking through the woods, discovering new restaurants, and traveling. She lives
in White Plains with her husband and dog, Tango