Cellist Melissa Kraut Appointed to Faculty at DePaul University School of Music

Kraut was previously co-head of the cello department at the Cleveland Institute of Music

Cellist Melissa Kraut has recently joined the faculty at DePaul University as a Professional Lecturer in the cello department. She will begin taking on students from the opening of the 2025/26 academic year — and succeeds Stephen Balderston, who retires in the Summer of 2025.

For the last nineteen years, Kraut served as co-head of the cello department at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). A number of staff, including the harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, have recently left their positions at CIM. In March 2024, 90% of CIM staff tabled a vote of no confidence in the school's president and provost over the way they handled a Title IX investigation into the professional conduct of faculty member Carlos Kalmar.

Kraut holds qualifications from CIM, the University of Iowa, and Northwestern University, and her principal teachers included Alan Harris and Hans-Jorgen Jensen. She has also worked under Aldo Parisot, Frank Miller, Yo-Yo Ma, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and David Soyer.

She has a strong reputation as a pedagogue, and her students frequently win well-regarded prizes. Previously, these have included awards at the Gaspar Cassado Competition, the Carlos Prieto Competition, the Sphinx Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Competition, the American String Teacher's Association, the Walgreen's Competition, the Fischoff Competition, and the Banff Chamber Music Competition, among others.

Similarly, her students hold positions in top orchestras, including the Indianapolis Symphony, the Principal of the South Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, US Army Strings, and the Knoxville Symphony, as well as orchestras in Europe and China.

"Learning flourishes in an environment of dignity, professionalism, compassion, and safety," Kraut said. "From the moment I set foot on the campus of DePaul, I felt a resonant harmony with the community and immediately recognized this as a special place where students thrive.

"Joining Dean Milbauer and the exceptional faculty and staff of the DePaul University School of Music is a deep honor. I look forward to building new relationships within the DePaul community. Returning to Chicago brings me home to the city where I first developed my musical voice, and I'm excited to give back to the place where it all began."

"We are thrilled to welcome Melissa Kraut to our faculty at DePaul!" said John Milbauer, Dean of the School of Music. "Melissa’s extraordinary abilities in shaping the lives of young artists will enrich our faculty and support a primary strategic objective of expanding the excellence of our ensembles. She is the perfect person to build on the studio environment created by Steve Balderston, both nurturing and professional. Not only does she understand music and teaching; she understands people, and that is invaluable to all of us at DePaul."