Biography
Biography:
At just eight years of age, Melissa Axel was writing songs about the bittersweet journey of life, love, struggle, and inspiration - and not much has changed since. She continued to pen lyrics throughout her high school and college years, developing a fluid and distinctive style of piano playing as she began composing while finding her own unique voice through a diverse background of artistic, business, and life experiences.
With an undergraduate degree in Management from the University of Florida, Axel briefly joined the "real world" before chasing her musical dreams at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Axel's business background has served her well: before graduating, she co-produced the Sister Hazel Angels of Mercy Benefit Concert, where she united other artists and local businesses in supporting the namesake charity of the well known folk-rock band, Sister Hazel.
At Berklee, Axel pursued a self-designed Professional Music program, combining studies in songwriting, performance, and music technology. She completed her diploma with a major in Music Business and served as Co-Director of Heavy Rotation Records, which released the Shekinah 13 Artists compilation in 2002 - the first album produced by a student-run label to be distributed by a major record company (Epic/SONY).
In 2004, Axel was awarded a full scholarship as the graduate assistant for the Interdisciplinary Arts Program at Nova Southeastern University, where she hosted the eclectic music show The Authentic Life on Radio X 88.5 FM in South Florida. She received SWEA's 2005 Cultural Scholarship for her work promoting arts education with Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts in Sweden and completed a graduate internship as the Production Assistant for Nefertiti - A Musical Romance at the Parker Playhouse.
As the Creative Director of The Human Adventure: resurrecting the memory of love, Axel conceptualized the interdisciplinary arts production incorporating much of her original music alongside popular electronic, rock, and film score pieces for a multimedia-, drama-, and dance-infused presentation of our personal "hero's journey" toward fulfillment and authenticity.
With her debut EP Free Time, Axel fuses her love of electronica, jazz, and other contemporary influences with her strengths as a singer/songwriter, transforming her life experiences and emotions into songs that express the fear and joy and pain and love that connect us all.
"Everything I do is with the goal of creating a more positive environment for music to flourish - others' music as well as my own. This includes working with fellow musicians and arts organizations to help them develop their business and promotional skills, sharing my knowledge as well as my vision, and being genuinely open to all forms of expression, seeking the most positive forces to align my work with."
Power moves in the direction of hope
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