Stefanos Melas has extensive and diverse experience across the music industry and higher education. He has performed as a violinist throughout Australia, Italy, and the United States at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall. Having earned a PhD in Music Performance, he is passionate about helping musicians achieve their artistic and educational aspirations through his work in admissions at the Yale University School of Music.
 
Adept at diverse musical styles and genres, Stefanos has appeared in concerts with internationally acclaimed artists, including Bruce Springsteen and The Eagles. As an educator, he has taught extensively in New York City, notably through the Research Foundation of CUNY. He has additionally served on the adjunct violin faculty at The University of Queensland and New York University. Stefanos was formerly the Classical and Jazz Music Content Specialist for YouTube Music. In this role, he managed music programming and featured content for millions of users worldwide.  

Stefanos attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received the Presidential Merit Award. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts and a Master of Music degree from New York University. Stefanos also obtained a Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a Presidential Scholarship recipient. He subsequently received a PhD in Music Performance from The University of Queensland School of Music in Australia on a full scholarship sponsored by the Australian Government. His thesis on Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade after Plato's Symposium included the participation of Jamie Bernstein, Glenn Dicterow, and Midori.

Stefanos had the opportunity to study the Serenade intensively with Midori in Los Angeles and to undertake a scholarly analysis of Bernstein's original manuscript at the Library of Congress. His research was accompanied by a performance of the work with The University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, as part of the Vice-Chancellor's Concert Series. His collegiate teachers were Shmuel Ashkenasi, Alexander Barantschik, Robert Chen, and Naoko Tanaka. Stefanos has additionally undertaken summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival under Masao Kawasaki. A dual citizen of the United States and Greece, he is originally from Atlanta. Stefanos currently resides in Connecticut.