Melissa (Oboe)

My study of the oboe started late in my sixth grade year. I studied mathematics education and oboe performance as an undergraduate at Northwest Nazarene University, graduating in 1999. I was able to take some oboe lessons while doing graduate work in mathematics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. During this time, I joined Forte Quartet as its first wind player.

I began teaching mathematics at the college level in 2000, which is the same year that I was able to marry my college sweetheart. After earning two Master’s degrees in math – one at UMKC and one at KU – our son was born in August 2007, joined by a sister in May 2009 and a brother in November 2010. I still teach math on a very limited basis, trying to focus my time instead on finishing a Ph.D. program at UMKC that I started in 2008.

I also enjoy playing oboe at our church (Overland Park Church of the Nazarene) every Sunday, but that cannot compare with the musicianship and quality that Forte Quartet produces each time we play.