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Born and raised in Chicago, Melissa Dittmann (violin, vocals, and Chinese erhu) has explored the wider world through her interests, music, and studies. Melissa has been playing violin since the age of 12 and since has dabbled in classical style, Irish fiddling, and Moroccan Andalusian music with fellow guest artist Anass Sentissi. While studying abroad in India, she took a 2-month intensive course in Karnatic (South Indian classical-style) at the Vijnana Kala Vedi Cultural School in Kerala.

More recently, after gaining a foundation on the erhu (Chinese 2-stringed violin) under the instruction of local artist Dr. James Yang, Melissa spent a year in studying China, focusing on Chinese culture, music and art, erhu included. Now back in Bloomington, Melissa is finishing up her undergraduate degree in Intercultural Arts Programming and Performance at Indiana University through the Individualized Major Program with minors in Chinese, Tibetan studies, and music.