Faculty Artist Series: Brian Snow, cello and Laura Melton, piano

Cellist Brian Snow is Associate Professor of Cello at Bowling Green State University. Praised by the Boston Globe for his “…pugnacious, eloquent, self-assurance…”, Dr. Snow has performed and recorded with a variety of artists, including Meredith Monk, The National, Max Richter, Björk, and the Emerson String Quartet and has worked closely with composers including Nico Muhly, David T. Little, and Martin Bresnick. In 2013, he and violinist Caroline Chin released a critically acclaimed CD of violin and cello music by Elliott Carter on Centaur Records. This will be followed by a 2026 release of violin/cello duos by Samuel Adler, Christopher Dietz, and Jessie Montgomery on the Toccata label. He has also appeared on New Amsterdam, Innova, Deutsche Gramophon, Cantaloupe, and Naxos labels. He has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Bargemusic, 92nd St. Y, Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and has performed regularly with many prominent contemporary music ensembles, including ACME, Alarm Will Sound, Da Capo Chamber Players, and Talea Ensemble. As principal cellist of New York Symphonic Ensemble, Dr. Snow performed in halls throughout Japan on that ensemble's annual tours and has appeared as soloist at halls in Fukuoka and Sendai. He was formerly a member of the New Haven Symphony cello section and often performs as a substitute in The Cleveland Orchestra. Other concerto appearances include Riverside Orchestra in New York, Longy Chamber Orchestra in Boston as winner of the Longy Concerto Soloists Competition, Crescent City Symphony in New Orleans, the Hartt Symphony as first prize winner of the Paranov Competition, and the BGSU Philharmonia. Dr. Snow has presented recitals and masterclasses nationally and internationally at institutions including Oberlin Conservatory, University of Missouri, Sam Houston State University, and Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China. Dr. Snow received a DMA from Stony Brook University, a MM from Yale, and holds degrees from Hartt and Longy Schools of Music. His teachers have included Aldo Parisot, David Finckel, and Colin Carr. Dr. Snow has previously served in faculty positions at Sarah Lawrence College, Western Connecticut State University, and Brooklyn Conservatory. He performs on a cello made by master American luthier Jon van Kouwenhowen.

Laura Melton, Professor of Piano Bowling Green State University, has performed in Asia, Europe, South America and throughout the US.  A prizewinner in several major international competitions, Melton has appeared as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Freiburg Musikhochschulorchester in Germany, the San Francisco Chamber Players, and the International Chamber Orchestra in California. She has been featured on Südwestfunk Radio (Germany), Kol Israel, Radio Nacional de España and National Public Radio's Performance Today in celebration of the birthday of composers, John Corigliano and Samuel Adler.

Melton received rave reviews for her Naxos American Classics Series CD, Solo Piano Works of Sebastian Currier.  Gramophone hails her as “an artist who can tame formidable technical beasts and bring colorful delineation to a multiplicity of moods and textures.  The New York Times praises her playing as “expressive and with dexterous flair.” Additional recordings include solo piano and chamber music works by Samuel Adler for Naxos, and Currier’s violin and piano works for Albany Records with violinist, Yehonatan Berick.

Melton is an avid chamber musician and has appeared in several US summer festivals including Ravinia, Aspen, and Sarasota, as well as European festivals in Holland, Switzerland, Germany and Greece.  She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, where she was a student of Nelita True; a master's degree from the University of Southern California, under John Perry; and a doctorate from Rice University, where she was a graduate fellow and teaching assistant to John Perry. As a student of Robert Levin, she spent three years in Germany as a Fulbright Scholar, earning the Solistendiplom while studying at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg.

Melton’s students have won numerous competitions and awards, and have been accepted into such prestigious programs as the Curtis Institute, Juilliard, Eastman, Oberlin, Peabody and the New England Conservatory. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and student of Michael Coonrod, Melton taught at the Interlochen Arts Camp for 12 summers.  Prior to her BGSU appointment in 1999, Melton was on the faculty of the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California.