Dr Melissa Fitzgerald has established herself as an in-demand soloist and chamber musician. In 2021 she performed Villa-Lobos’ Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra with the Fremantle Symphony Orchestra, as well as Torroba’s Sonatina for Guitar and Orchestra with the West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra. Past performance highlights include the 2018 Perth International Classical Guitar Festival, the Classical Guitar Society of WA, Edith Cowan University, and radio performances on RTRFM’s guitar show and ABC Great Southern. Her prowess as a performer has been recognised through numerous awards and competitions, including WAAPA’s 2013 Warana Concerto Competition, in which she was a finalist performing Leo Brouwer’s Concerto Elegiaco with the WAAPA Orchestra, and was also a finalist in 2010 for the most outstanding graduating music student award.
Melissa undertook her guitar studies at WAAPA under the guidance of Dr Jonathan Paget. Her 2011 Honours thesis titled Minimalism and the Guitar received First Class Honours, and in 2017 she graduated with her PhD thesis, Bridging the Great Divide: An Exploration of Postmodernism in the Guitar Music of Nigel Westlake.
Currently, Melissa teaches guitar chamber music at the UWA Conservatorium of Music. Additionally, she maintains a full studio at Trinity College and Mercedes College.
Melissa plays a 2011 Paul Sheridan guitar.