Melissa Weikart is a French/American vocalist, pianist, and composer originally from Boston, US, currently based in Strasbourg, FR. Her musical approach is shaped by her passion for experimental vocal harmony and formative training as a classical pianist. Melissa’s solo songwriting project has been described as a playfully intimate dialogue between voice and piano, inviting listeners into a rich, raw world of twisted melodies and exposed dissonance. After releasing her EP Coffee and live album Testing All My Memories, she has signed with Northern Spy Records in Brooklyn, NY who will release her album Here, There in 2022. She is the recipient of the 2022 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Emerging Artist prize.
Melissa collaborates with artists across many disciplines. She has performed with Carla Kihlstedt for her multimedia song cycles Necessary Monsters and Black Inscription and composed for San Francisco-based contemporary dance company Kickbal. Upon her arrival in Strasbourg, she formed Beatrice Melissa, an experimental electronic duo. Melissa DJs on her monthly radio show, Effet Désirable, and is part of Tu mixes bien, a feminist collective combating sexism in the French electronic music scene.
While pursuing her Master’s in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston (M.M. ’18), Melissa studied with Carla Kihlstedt, Anthony Coleman, Dominique Eade, Ran Blake, and Hankus Netsky, and co-founded Students Advocating for Gender Equity. She also received an Entrepreneurial Musicianship grant to produce Wouldn’t It Be Nice: Pet Sounds Reimagined, a recomposition of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds for vocal choir and rock band.
Melissa Weikart
Melissa Weikart is a French/American vocalist, pianist, and composer originally from Boston, US, currently based in Strasbourg, FR. Her musical approach is shaped by her passion for experimental vocal harmony and formative training as a classical pianist. Melissa’s solo songwriting project has been described as a playfully intimate dialogue between voice and piano, inviting listeners into a rich, raw world of twisted melodies and exposed dissonance. After releasing her EP Coffee and live album Testing All My Memories, she has signed with Northern Spy Records in Brooklyn, NY who will release her album Here, There in 2022. She is the recipient of the 2022 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Emerging Artist prize.
Melissa collaborates with artists across many disciplines. She has performed with Carla Kihlstedt for her multimedia song cycles Necessary Monsters and Black Inscription and composed for San Francisco-based contemporary dance company Kickbal. Upon her arrival in Strasbourg, she formed Beatrice Melissa, an experimental electronic duo. Melissa DJs on her monthly radio show, Effet Désirable, and is part of Tu mixes bien, a feminist collective combating sexism in the French electronic music scene.
While pursuing her Master’s in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston (M.M. ’18), Melissa studied with Carla Kihlstedt, Anthony Coleman, Dominique Eade, Ran Blake, and Hankus Netsky, and co-founded Students Advocating for Gender Equity. She also received an Entrepreneurial Musicianship grant to produce Wouldn’t It Be Nice: Pet Sounds Reimagined, a recomposition of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds for vocal choir and rock band.