2Vplus

Violinist Melissa Schaak is both a skilled and versatile player that draws upon a vast array of experience spanning multiple musical styles and continents. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Schaak earned a Bmus and Diploma in Chamber Music from Wilfrid Laurier University before continuing her studies across the Atlantic at Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Her private instructors included acclaimed performers such as Peter Brunt (former principle second of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), Lex Korff de Gidts (erstwhile member of the Miranda String Quartet and Mendelssohn Trio), Jerzy Kaplanek (Penderecki String Quartet) and Moshe Hammer. She has also received training in chamber music through masterclasses with some of the world's most renowned ensembles—the Julliard, Tokyo, Emerson and Alban Berg String Quartets to name a few—and played under the baton of the revered Dutch conductor Reinbert De Leeuw.

Though grounded by a traditional education, Schaak has performed extensively in both the classical and pop realms. She has been heard in string sections backing pop giants such as Chaka Khan and Simple Minds, crooners like Josh Groban and Michael Bublé, and heavy metal acts like Disturbed and Evanescence. She even joined Perry Farrell (of Janes Addiction infamy) in Paris for a performance at Lollapalooza—the monumental festival that he founded.

On the classical side, Schaak has held the principle second violinist chair of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra since 2019, and continues to perform with the Timmins Symphony Orchestra. Previously, she was a member of the North Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Utrecht Kamerorkest Trajectum, Orchestra Symphonique regional de l’Abitibi Temiscamingue (Quebec), and the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra.

Prior to founding the rock-classical fusion project 2V+ with Cristina Masotti in early 2022, Schaak was a vital part of several other classical-crossover outfits including the Innovative String Quartet; Electra, a duo whose 2015 kick-off tour included stops in New York City, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Geneva, and London, and the Exclusive Strings who boasted a program of 80-100 worldwide performances annually.

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Cristina Masotti draws upon a long and varied professional history as a musician, making her a gifted resourceful violinist. She's a lifelong orchestral musician, performing as a member of several symphonic orchestras including the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, Sault Ste Marie Symphony, North Bay Symphony Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and L’Orchestre d’Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and at the Algoma Conservatory Series working under the direction of respected conductors like Alain Trudel, Victor Feldbrill, Rodney Friend, David Zafer, Nurhan Arman, and Melanie Leonard.

She has also performed extensively as the concertmaster of Sudbury's YES Theatre orchestra, playing alongside such beloved musicals as Les Miserables, The Last Five Years, Beauty and the Beast, Violet, as well as The Sound of Music and Wizard of Oz.

Masotti also has considerable insight into a plethora of other playing styles, including traditional musics. As one third of Fagroongala, she delves into the folk repertoire of French Canada and the British Isles, while as a member of the long-running band Zabava, she plays rousing renditions of Ukrainian Polka classics. She's also been part of several outfits such as Ginkgo Girls, the Aliens, Hank and the Hoosier Daddies, the Panties, and Fritz, each of which plays original compositions in styles that span driving rock to mellow electronica.

Pedagogy is another crucial feature of Masotti's practice—she has been a violin instructor at Cambrian College for 11 years, providing instruction for a studio of over 40 pupils. She also worked with younger students as a music teacher for both the Montessori School of Sudbury and Northern Elementary School and also hosted a summer rock band camp for youth in Sudbury.

Prior to founding 2V+ with Melissa Schaack, she used her diverse experience as the foundation for Soundscapes North, an agency she established to provide musicians for corporate and classical music events. Masotti was also previously the owner of gallery and boutique One Sky in Sudbury