Melissa Venema - Vita

12th April 1995: Melissa Venema comes into the world at 12.45 pm in Alkmaar (Netherlands).
September 2003: Aged 8, she discovers her love of the trumpet.
January 2005: Melissa plays in various orchestras and gives her first performances in churches.
October 2005: The 10-year-old Melissa wins 1st place in the “Scholierentournooi” competition, even though entry is normally reserved for those aged 12 and over.
November 2005: Melissa wins 1st place in the “Carla Leurs” competition.
December 2005: Aged 10, Melissa plays at the “Conservatorium van Amsterdam” music academy and passes the entrance exam.
12th January 2006: The 11-year-old Melissa releases her first album, "Melissa voor U".
22nd April 2006: Melissa is taught by Frits Damrow (soloist trumpeter for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) at the “Conservatorium van Amsterdam”.
September 2006: Melissa begins her studies. The conservatory’s “Sweelinck Academy”, geared towards young talents, allows Melissa to complete her normal schooling in tandem with her classical music training.
June 2006: Melissa takes part in the “World Music Contest”: 6th place overall, and 3rd place in the brass instrument category.
April 2007: At the age of 12, Melissa wins 1st place in the Dutch “HaFaBra Concours”. She is also judged by the jury in the “21 and over” category and there wins 3rd place.
18th August 2007: Melissa's “Prinsengracht Concert” is broadcast live on Dutch television, which brings her to the attention of André Rieu.
31st August 2007 to 12th September 2007: Melissa goes on a solo tour of South Africa and plays 8 sold-out concerts.
November 2007: Melissa receives a custom-made, hand-crafted Yamaha trumpet.
17th February 2008: Melissa is awarded the sponsorship prize of the “Prinses Christina” competition.
June 2008: Melissa wins 1st prize at the national music competition “Stichting Jong Muziektalent Nederland”.
27th & 28th June 2008: Melissa gives a solo performance with André Rieu and his Johann Strauß Orchestra at the Amsterdam Arena.
4th to 6th July 2008: Melissa plays in Maastricht with André Rieu and his Johann Strauß Orchestra.
8th November 2008: Melissa comes in 2nd place at “Stichting Jong Muziektalent Nederland”.
28th November 2008: Release of the André Rieu DVD “Live in Maastricht 2”, which contains Melissa’s performance of “Il Silenzio”.
19th and 20th December 2008: Melissa plays in Arnhem with André Rieu and his Johann Strauß Orchestra.
22nd and 23rd December 2008: Melissa plays at 2 André Rieu concerts at the Arena in Hasselt (Belgium).
8th March 2009: Melissa wins 1st prize at the “Prinses Christina” competition, as well as the audience prize, the sponsorship prize, and the finale prize.
11th March 2009: Melissa plays live in front of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
April 2009: Melissa is once more awarded the sponsorship prize of the “Prinses Christina” competition.
7th June 2009: Melissa passes the “Young Talent Class” exam of the “Amsterdam Conservatory” cum laude. This corresponds to the highest distinction in the German system, the “summa cum laude”, and is awarded very rarely (< 5 %).
22nd July 2009 to 3rd August 2009: Melissa once more goes on a solo tour of South Africa and plays 5 sold-out concerts.
19th August 2009: Release of her second album CD, “Melissa in Concert”.
28th to 30th August 2009: Melissa plays at three further concerts with André Rieu and his Johann-Strauß Orchestra in the Dutch town of Heerenveen.
20th March 2010: Melissa wins 3rd place overall and 1st place in the trumpet section of the “International Chicago Brass Festival” in the USA. At 14, she is by far the youngest participant. All other participants are at least 20 years older.
5th June 2010: Melissa wins the sponsorship prize of the municipality of Zaanstad (Netherlands).
17th June 2010: Release of her third album CD, “From the Heart”.
27th June 2010: Melissa gives a solo performance at the famous Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, near Los Angeles. Her concert is broadcast on television throughout America and 70 other countries.
7th October 2010: Melissa becomes a Dutch ambassador for “Children in Need”.
17th November 2010: Melissa once more performs in front of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
19th November 2010: “DEAG Music” – a company of Deutsche Entertainment AG – gives Melissa a global contract.
20th November 2010: Melissa is introduced to German audiences by her mentor Till Brönner on the ZDF channel’s “Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel” TV show.
January 2011: Melissa's rendition of Nini Rosso’s “Il Silenzio” is watched over 2 million times on YouTube.
13th February 2011: Melissa’s performance of “À toi la gloire” (George Frideric Handel) enters the “Netherlands iTunes Top 100 World Songs” chart at number 14.
20th July 2011: Melissa's rendition of Nini Rosso’s “Il Silenzio” is watched over 3 million times on YouTube.
July to August 2011: In order to improve her German skills, Melissa attends the Goethe Institute in Amsterdam for 2 months.
21st August 2011: Melissa plays with the Dutch "Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra" – one of the major symphony orchestras in the world – on “Grachtenfestival 2011” in Amsterdam.
21st October 2011: Before the boxing match Susi Kentikian (Germany) against Teerapora Pannimit (Thailand) Melissa plays the two national anthems live on TV (SPORT1).
29. Oktober 2011 - 26. November 2011: Melissa is on tour with the English superstar & 'Britain's Got Talent" winner Paul Potts (13 concerts in Germany).
20th July 2011: Melissa's rendition of Nini Rosso’s “Il Silenzio” is watched over 4 million times on YouTube.
19th March 2012: Melissa's rendition of Nini Rosso’s “Il Silenzio” is watched over 5 million times on YouTube.
tba: Release of her fourth album CD „The Trumpet is My Voice“.