Melissa Terrall is an award-winning Oregonian pianist currently based in the Willamette valley. Melissa spent the 2023-24 academic year as a Fulbright scholar studying Mexican piano repertoire at Mexico City’s National Conservatory. Her research focuses on the evolution of Mexican classical piano repertoire before, during, and after the country’s revolution in the early 20th century.

A passionate educator and performer, Melissa has maintained a private piano studio for many years and has worked as interim piano professor at Linfield University and Clark College. Melissa received her master’s in piano performance at the University of Kansas, where she was awarded a graduate teaching assistantship and studied under Dr. Scott McBride Smith. While in Kansas, she served as director of the KU Community Music School, teaching beginning piano lessons to students of all ages.

The youngest of six in a musical family, Melissa’s first piano teachers were her mom and sister. She went on to study with Dr. Jill Timmons and Dr. Julia Lee at Portland State University. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Oregon Sinfonietta and Portland’s Jewish Community Orchestra. During her undergrad, Melissa studied abroad in Spain, working with pianists in Madrid and Barcelona, an experience that piqued her interest in Iberian and Latin American classical music. When she is not at the keyboard, Melissa finds inspiration hiking, reading, and improvising in the kitchen.