Melinda Benson is a graduate of the University of Iowa where she received her Doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy in December of 2007 and Master of Arts in 2005. She is received her Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Potsdam, Crane School of Music. She is currently writing her thesis paper on the songs and lyrics of Noel Coward and plans to graduate in May 2012. Melinda has been teaching private voice for 10 years, including two and one half years as a teaching assistant at the University of Iowa and one year as an adjunct voice professor at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, IA. She currently resides in Newark, DE, where she is employed as a music director at Pencader Presbyterian Church and as a voice teacher at Darlington Arts Center in Pennsylvania.
Melinda recently competed in the Austrian American Society Competition in Delaware and was awarded a cash prize for second place. Recent performances include: Mistress of Novices in Suor Angelica and Lola in Cavelleria Rusticana with Concert Opera Philadelphia. Other notable performances include: Clarina in The Marriage Contract by Rossini, Cousin Hebe in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S Pinafore, and Sarah Good in The Crucible by Robert Ward. Melinda regularly performs and as a chorus member with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Most recently, she was seen in Verdi’s Otello and Puccini’s Tosca. In addition to opera roles and concerts, Melinda continues to perform solo recitals.
