Melissa Colgin Abeln, DMA,  flute professor at the University of Texas – El Paso (1987-2018), is principal flutist of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra.  She held positions with the Sinfonica Orquesta UA de Guadalajara (Mexico) and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, with whom she was featured as a soloist for concerts and subsequent recordings. A finalist in competitions in Austin and Dallas, she won the Pittsburgh Concert Society Young Artist Competition in 1987. In Europe, she made recital appearances with the Atelier Series and Concerts Accueil Musical and the Cultural Program Series at the American Embassy in Paris, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp. (Radio Oslo), and the Haydn Festspiel (Einsenstadt, Austria). Orchestral tours include ten performances in Germany with the EPSO in 1996, and in 2000, a summer tour of five cities in Turkey with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra. She has soloed with the EPSO on performances during her 26+ year tenure.

In the US, she has published articles within The Flutist Quarterly, The Marcel Moyse Society, and Flute Talk. Her research on music memorization has resulted in ongoing presentations entitled, The Memory Map for Music, at numerous American universities, Texas Flute Society, three NFA conventions, International Society of Music Education in Greece, College Music Society, Music Educators National Association, Mid-South Flute Society, Canadian Flute Association, as well as a frequent adjudicator, presenter and clinician for Texas Music Educators Association activities.
 

Melissa earned the BM degree at the University of Alabama (Sheryl Cohen) as well as the MM and DMA at the University of Texas at Austin (Torkil Bye, Karl Kraber).  Further private study occurred in Paris with Raymond Guiot as well as numerous master classes and coachings with Rampal, Marion, Gilbert, Baker, Baxstresser, Hutchins, Stallman, and Redman.

Under her supervision, the UTEP Flute Studio held a reputation of excellence in solo and ensemble performances. Via competitive audition, The Flautistas performed at NFA conventions (2007, 2014).  Her former students have become professional flutists in orchestras, college professors, and music educators across the US and the Texas-Mexico Border region. 

Having relocated to Santa Fe, Melissa founded an adult flute choir, accrued a small cadre of flute students, and spends more time discovering New Mexico’s natural and cultural offerings.