Melody Sparks graduated from Azusa Pacific University (APU) with the first ever double Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Piano Performance. She also completed the Honors Humanities Minor through her participation in the APU Honors College Program. While at APU, Melody was honored to study voice under Patricia Edwards, DMA, and piano under Joel Clifft, DMA. She performed as the Sandman in the opera Too Many Sopranos and as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte which were both musically directed by Kristof van Grysperre. She also sang the soprano solo for Mahler’s 4th symphony with the APU Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Christopher Russell. Melody performed in four different choirs at APU, including the award-winning APU Chamber Singers under the direction of Michelle Jensen, and was a soprano soloist in all of them. In 2019, Melody was honored to be accepted into the Young Artist Program at Songfest and work privately with William McGraw and Mark Trawka.
Currently, Melody is completing an M.M. degree in Vocal Arts at USC Thornton School of Music. She is studying voice with Professor Lynn Helding and involved in the opera program at USC, where her debut role is as Camila in the heartwarming operetta Pepito. Other activities that Melody has been involved in include studio singing (she has worked with names such as Mark Gasbarro and Akihito Matsumoto), teaching voice and piano lessons, accompanying the Azusa Conservatory Children’s Choir, and working as a substitute pianist for several local churches. Outside of music, Melody enjoys writing poetry, short stories, and novels and is an aspiring author. Melody has dreams of singing professionally, both classically and with The Sparks Sisters, while using her piano skills to continue teaching privately and playing for churches, choirs, projects, or shows.
