Greek American musician and arts administrator Stefanos Melas brings extensive experience from across the music industry and higher education. He has performed as a violinist throughout Australia, Italy, and the United States at esteemed venues such as Carnegie Hall. Stefanos is passionate about helping young musicians achieve their artistic and academic aspirations through his work in admissions at the Yale School of Music. He was previously the Classical and Jazz Music Content Specialist for YouTube Music, where he managed global music programming and featured content for millions of users. As an educator, he has served on the adjunct violin faculty at The University of Queensland and New York University. He has also taught through the CUNY Research Foundation in Manhattan and performed with Bruce Springsteen and The Eagles.

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 earned a PhD in Music Performance from The University of Queensland on a full scholarship sponsored by the Australian Government. His dissertation on Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade 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. Stefanos has additionally undertaken summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival under Masao Kawasaki and the Encore School for Strings with Linda Cerone. His principal teachers were Shmuel Ashkenasi, Alexander Barantschik, Robert Chen, and Naoko Tanaka. Originally from Atlanta, Stefanos currently resides in Connecticut and continues to perform in New York City.