Melissa Brooks has been a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra cello since 1992 and currently serves as Associate Principal Cello. A native of New York City, she attended the pre-college division of the Juilliard School eventually attending the New England Conservatory where she earned her undergraduate degree with Distinction in Performance while studding with Laurence Lesser.
Melissa has performed chamber and solo concerts throughout the country, including a duo concert with the late cellist Janos Starker. She has won numerous awards and honors and was nominated by Leonard Bernstein for an Avery Fisher career grant in 1988. She has participated in summer festivals such as Marlboro, Tanglewood, Aspen, Portland Chamber Music Festival, Concert Artists Guild Summer Festival, and the Sun Valley Summer Festival, among others. She has appeared as soloist with the SLSO under former Music Director Hans Vonk as well as conductors Jeffery Kahane and Nicholas McGegan. Melissa also performed Pierre Boulez’s demanding Messagesquisse, scored for solo cello and six other cellos, under the direction of David Robertson. She can be heard on a chamber music recording for AAM Recordings with a group of SLSO colleagues.
Melissa is active in our community participating in numerous benefit concerts as well as engagement in advocacy work.