Melissa Swedberg studied viola at the University of Southern California and completed her B.A. in Music at the University of California at Santa Cruz.  She pursued graduate viola studies at Ithaca College and received an M.A. in Music Education from the University of Central Florida.  She also studied viola at the Music Academy of the West, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and in the Oxford, England studio of Kato Havas.   She has performed with the Orlando Philharmonic since its inception, and previously played with various orchestras around the country including the Seattle Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Hidden Valley Opera,  Monterey Symphony,  Charleston Symphony, and the Columbia Philharmonic.  Melissa directs four student orchestras at Millennium Middle School in Sanford, and has been a Teacher of the Year and a two-time Disney Teacherrific Winner.  She and her husband Robert have two children, Olivia (19) and Erik (16), and their favorite pastime is hanging around the campfire at Uncle Jon’s remote California cabin.