Leonard Melcher

Leonard Melcher (born in Bad Soden am Taunus) began violin lessons at the age of five. From 2013, he studied with Ingo de Haas, concertmaster of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, and gained formative orchestral experience as a member of the Landesjugendsinfonieorchester (LJSO) Hessen. He went on to serve as sectional leader and concertmaster in various youth orchestras, including the Jugendsinfonieorchester Kassel, the Junge Sinfonie Berlin, the Junge Norddeutsche Philharmonie and in the tutti of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie.

In 2016, he began his undergraduate studies at the University of Music in Stuttgart with Prof. Kolja Lessing, continuing in 2018 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt with Prof. Sophia Jaffé and Prof. Susanne Stoodt. He graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Music. From 2022 to 2024, he completed his Master’s degree with highest distinction at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, studying with Prof. Elisabeth Weber and Carlos Johnson. During the 2022/23 season, he was also an academist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck.

Leonard has participated in masterclasses with renowned artists including Mark Gothoni, Ulf Hoelscher, Stefan Hempel, Rudens Turku, Maria-Elisabeth Lott, Erika Geldsetzer, and Heime Müller. He also broadened his artistic horizons during an Erasmus semester with Henning Kraggerud at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.

As a soloist, he has performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Jugendsinfonieorchester Kassel and appeared in Vivaldi’s Autumn as part of the Summer Academy Mühldorf.

Contemporary music has been a recurring focus throughout his artistic development. During his bachelor's studies, he performed works such as Jörg Widmann’s Hunting Quartet with fellow students. In 2023, he collaborated with Ensemble Modern Orchestra under the direction of George Benjamin at Musikfest Berlin, returning the following year for another performance with the ensemble. Since October 2024, he has been a member of the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), performing at major festivals including Into the Open, impuls Festival, and the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik.