Melissa Trier Kirk

Viola

Violist Melissa Trier Kirk joined the Lyric Opera Orchestra in 1982. I am also a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and have served as Principal Violist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Chicago Philharmonic, and Chicago Opera Theater. I have performed with the Chicago Symphony, Music of the Baroque, Haymarket Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the International Music Foundation’s Rush Hour Series.


I help to plan the Bach Week Festival, a yearly spring ritual featuring the music of J. S. Bach in Evanston, Illinois. Many of my Lyric Opera Orchestra colleagues join me in performing for the festival.


My husband, bassoonist Lewis Kirk and I volunteer for Sharing Notes, an organization whose purpose is to bring live music to patients in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Through Zoom we have performed hundreds of one on one concerts for patients throughout Chicagoland, raising spirits and connecting through the transformative power of music.


I suppose it is that power that drew me to music as a career in the first place. I feel deeply fortunate to have been a member of the Lyric Opera Orchestra for so many years. Working as a small part of a wonderful team of excellent musicians is an experience I cherish. What we can do together is magic.