Melissa Koch

Melissa Koch joined the Hennepin Theatre Trust in February 2010 as the Director of Education and Community Engagement. Prior to joining the Trust, Ms. Koch was the Director of Education for the Minnesota Shubert Center (now Cowles Center for Dance) for four years. Under her leadership, the program grew exponentially and reaches students throughout Minnesota, the United States and Canada through distance learning and web-based technologies. The program has been awarded the TechArts Award given by Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Arts Management and Technology and the Social Venture Partners Honorable Mention for their Social Entrepreneur’s Cup award. She also pioneered the largest annual break dance competition in the Twin Cities called the Groundbreaker Battle in 2008.

Ms. Koch held positions at MacPhail Center for Music, the Marketing Science Institute and New England Conservatory. She holds a Master’s in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Science in Music from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She has also performed in a variety of music venues from the opera and musical theater stages to rock venues across Europe, China, Mexico and North America and has recorded vocals on five albums and guest vocals on six albums.