Melinda Rice is a violinist who loves stories. She has arranged folk songs for string ensembles, and brought a few strains of a familiar folk melodies into original compositions. The effect of her work has been described as “something like coming out from a long walk in the woods into a sudden clearing and seeing a house, with smoke curling from its chimney.” (Sequenza21) She plays and sings with the house band at the Craft in America Center, and with the new music ensemble wildUp!, and is on the teaching artist faculty at the Harmony Project, the YOLA program, and the LA Phil’s education program in elementary schools. Melinda is a graduate of the Philadelphia Creative and Performing Arts High School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the California Institute of the Arts.