Melissa Clampffer

At the age of 12, most of us were popping pimples, embarking on petty shoplifting careers, and generally existing in a state of obnoxiousness. Not Melissa Clampffer. Even before reaching her formative teen years, this Philadelphia wiz kid was mastering the piano and crafting songs with the remarkable introspection of a melody-maker twice her age. With her personal metronome set to “stun,” Melissa took on the task of songwriting full throttle, successfully auditioning for Philly’s famous Creative and Performing Arts High School and honing her majestic multi-octave voice under the watchful guidance of CAPA’s best.

Beyond high school, Melissa went on to attend Millersville University, earning a BA in music business with a concentration in vocal performance. But her musical education here far transcended the realm of mere academics. During her junior and senior years, Melissa served as president of the Millersville Songwriting Association, heading up a symposium of gifted songsmiths who met to fuel mutual creativity, inspiring and nurturing one another’s deep affection for the song as a form of personal expression. Around this time, she began performing at the World Cafe Live’s open mic nights, gaining a local, devoted following, and racking up an impressive number of accolades. For the first week in July, both in 2008 and 2009, Melissa was selected as the World Cafe Live’s standout performer, bumping her up to compete against 12 other artists and bands (as the only female) in 2009’s prestigious Cream of the Crop competition.

As a performer and a songwriter, Melissa’s career prospects have never looked better, and her star continues to rise well above the mortal stratosphere. With her debut album, ‘Going Places’, Melissa has gathered a collection of personal and reflective pieces, woven into a rich musical tapestry as dazzling as the woman behind its genesis. Some songs were composed during her collegiate years; others boast more recent origins. Many contain elements of the biographical; more still are formulated around a simple concept transformed into a realistic story. But the common ground shared by all is Melissa herself, a unique and innovative artist who derives influence from the titans of the singer-songwriter genre: dynamic performers like Carol King, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and Regina Spektor. With an ear for the exceptional and an unwavering drive to succeed, Melissa is sure to find her place among the greats in the very near future.

Melissa performs live at World Cafe and Tin Angel in Philadelphia. Her album can be purchased on Digstation or at CdBaby.