My Journey
My journey with the violin began in Atlanta, Georgia, where I first picked up the instrument as a young child. What started as a childhood curiosity quickly grew into a lifelong devotion—not just to music, but to understanding the violin itself: its history, its construction, its sound.
I later studied Violin Performance at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, where I refined my technique and began performing more extensively. Over the years, I’ve had the honor of participating in international festivals that shaped me both as a violinist and as a person—including the YOA Youth Orchestra of the Americas Festival in Chaco, Argentina (2016), the Otto Derolez Violin Seminar in Chile (2017), and the Festival et Académie des Arcs in France (2022–2023). These experiences exposed me to a diversity of musical traditions and deepened my appreciation for the global community of string players.
Alongside my career as a performer and educator, I co-founded Olitarte with my husband, luthier and bow maker Olialin Olarte, a workshop focused on the care, restoration, and sale of string instruments and bows. From student violins to rare European instruments, we’ve helped hundreds of musicians find tools that match their voice and aspirations.
Between 2022 and 2024, we lived and worked internationally while raising our two sons—a season of life that was both challenging and transformative. We’re now based in New Jersey, where Olialin works as a bow technician at Salchow and Sons in New York City, and I continue my work as a violinist, string instrument specialist, and content creator, helping musicians around the world better understand and care for the tools behind their sound.


Join the Melisma Violin Community
👉 Join my email list to receive free guides, behind-the-scenes insights, and exclusive materials you won’t find on social media.
You can also follow me on Instagram @melisma.violin.english for more bite-sized education, and subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@melisma.violin for full-length videos about string instruments, bows, and more.

