ABOUT ME(L)

A New Jersey native creating in Austin, Texas -
Mel Daneke is a contemporary performer, arranger, producer, and instructor. 

Mel graduated from Ithaca College’s Whalen School of Music in December of 2013 with a B.M. in Vocal Performance, minor in Audio Production, and also studied Music Education. While in college she performed in three of her own conceptual recitals and in the IC Opera Studio, Opera Workshops, IC Opera, Choral Ensembles, Percussion and Steel Band Ensemble, and smaller ensembles. She’s traveled to Germany performing in the International Performing Arts Institute to further her performance training. While at school, Mel was the conductor, arranger, and choreographer of Ithaca College’s female identifying a cappella group, Premium Blend.

Mel’s expertise is producing vocals and weaving together sounds from the human voice with electronic elements. Her production work stems from a love of percussion and vocal music. She owns, operates, and produces for Viridian Productions - a Contemporary A Cappella Production Company that offers arranging, audio production, video, and educational coachings. Her work has been nominated for and won 25+ Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards and 20+ A Cappella Video Awards. Her work is featured on - Sing, Best of High School A Cappella, Best of Collegiate A Cappella, and Voices Only. Beyond a cappella, she has produced local artists and bands in Austin such as electronic hand pan artist Taylor Haun, vocalists from Hikes (Adobo), and percussion alternative band - The Kraken Quartet.

Mel currently performs with two internationally renowned and award winning vocal band. Musae (Beatboxer + DJ) and Six Appeal (singer). She’s traveled extensively headlining and performing at festivals in Hong Kong, Taiwan, London, Edinburgh, Paris, Germany, and all over the United States. She’s also performed at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles. In Austin, Mel performs with reggae, Afro-beat fusion band, Patois. She also performs regularly with Austin Samba, the largest samba escola in the United States.

Mel’s passion for music continues through teaching and sharing her musical knowledge. With an extensive knowledge of vocal techniques and pedagogy, she specializes in in-studio coaching and masterclasses. Her workshops (“Groove Around the World”, “Vocal Percussion”, “Vocal Electronica”, and “Bodymind Awareness”) and masterclasses have been featured at Boston Sings Festival, SoJam A Cappella Festival, Kettering A Cappella Festival, Sing! Texas, UK Voices Festival, New Jersey A Cappella Festival, the National A Cappella Convention, Nordonia A Cappella Festival, and NJ American Choral Directors Association (NJ ACDA). Mel regularly judges a cappella competitions such as Acatex, International Championship of High School A Cappella, and International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.