Professional harpist Melanie Mashner is passionate about bringing joy to the people around her through music. Melanie is currently Graduate Assistant Instructor in Harp at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she is pursuing her master's degree. An avid arts administrator, Melanie is also the Program Coordinator for the USA International Harp Competition. 

As the winner of the 2019 Indiana University Harp Department Concerto Competition, Melanie performed Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Indiana University Orchestra this past February. Melanie graduated from IU in 2018 with a Bachelor’s of Music in Harp Performance with High Distinction and Honors, and was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. Currently studying with Professor Florence Sitruk, Melanie's principal teachers include world-renowned harpist and Distinguished Professor Susann McDonald, Elizabeth Hainen of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Anneleen Lenaerts of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, June Han, and Grace Wong.

Melanie has won numerous awards for the harp, including the Ham Merit Award in the National Society of Arts and Letters Instrumental Competition, the Ross and Andella Pyle Memorial Undergraduate Orchestral Instrumental Award, the Jo Amish Young Artist Competition, Empire State Competition, National Orchestra Award, Scholastic Arts Spotlight, the Barbara and David Jacobs Scholar Award, and in 2018, was a scholarship recipient at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. She was a contestant in the 2016 USA International Harp Competition and a finalist in the 2018 Anne Adams Awards and 2015 Lyon and Healy Awards, and has enjoyed performances as principal harpist and soloist with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, Penfield Symphony Orchestra, Finger Lakes Community Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the IU Philharmonic, Symphony, and Concert Orchestras, and the IU Wind Ensemble. Melanie enjoys collaborating with local Rochester and Bloomington musicians and composers, as well as with her sister, flutist Melissa Mashner, as a member of the Angelus Duo.