Melanie DeMent, soprano, is originally from Texas, where she received the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Arts in Vocal Performance degrees from Sam Houston State University, as a student of Walter Foster, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas, as a student of the late Edward Baird.

Ms. DeMent moved to Delaware from Philadelphia, where she was best known to audiences for her performances of Renaissance and Baroque music. In this field, she has coached with early music specialists Julianne Baird, Max von Egmond, and Penelope Johnson, and has been an acclaimed soloist with such ensembles as Pan's Fancy, Brandywine Baroque, the Philadelphia Renaissance Wind Band and Concerto Barocco. Recently, Ms. DeMent was the featured soloist on the Brandywine Baroque CD, "Digging for Gold." Having also worked with Dalton Baldwin, Gerard Souzay and contemporary composers Ned Rorem, George Crumb and Roger Briggs, Ms. DeMent is equally at home with recital and contemporary repertoire.

A past winner of the San Francisco Merola Opera Program, she has been the soloist for the Houston Ballet and Orchestra, the Michiana New Music Ensemble, the Midland-Odessa Symphony, and the Canadian Wilfrid Laurier Chamber Orchestra. In addition to early music, Ms. DeMent has an interest in the research and performance of obscure vocal repertoire, especially that of women composers.

As a teacher of singing at the University of Delaware, she is proud to acknowledge that her students have won many notable awards for their fine artistic and technical performances, including several national winners of the Music Teachers National Association High School and Collegiate Artist Competitions, winners of the Austrian American Auditions, and the Bach Aria Group. Students from Ms. DeMent's studio have consistently won their various divisions, ranging from High School to the Advanced Artist levels, in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions, making her one of the most successful teachers represented in these competitions. In addition many of her students have continued their graduate studies in prestigious schools and conservatories.

Ms. DeMent belongs to the Voice Foundation in Philadelphia, an international organization of physicians, voice scientists and teachers dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of career voice users and the continued education of the professionals that serve them. She has served as State President of the Delaware State Music Teachers Association, and both State Governor and Eastern Regional Governor of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. After serving on the editorial board of the Music Teachers National Association journal, American Music Teacher, she now reviews vocal books on pedagogy, performance, as well as biographies and new editions of vocal music. In addition to teaching vocal pedagogy at the university, her other pedagogical interests include treatments in vocal fold injury therapy and age-related problems in singers.