About Ms. Work

Melanie Work is the Instrumental and Vocal Music Teacher at Winton Middle School in Hayward, California. She has served on various committees for the school and district with Hayward Unified. Ms. Work completed a Master of Arts in Music Education from San José State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music and teaching credential from the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA she studied flute with Pénélope Turgeon, Julia Barnett, and Sheridon Stokes and learned conducting from Thomas Lee and Don Neuen.  Dr. Frank Heuser supervised her preservice teacher education.

Ms. Work has taught K-12 music in public schools in Stanislaus, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties. She specializes in concert bands and provides sound instruction for string orchestras, choirs, and classroom guitar. She is pleased to meet a broad range of student interests by providing varied music electives at Winton Middle. Her student ensembles were recognized for their excellence at music festivals and outstanding students were awarded scholarships for the East Bay Youth Orchestra and Hayward-LaHonda Music Camp. Ms. Work is proud of her students’ hard work and happily seeks opportunities for particularly dedicated individuals.  Many of her former students eventually attended colleges to pursue a variety of fields.  

Ms. Work has enjoyed participating in community and professional-level ensembles as a flutist, guest conductor, and chorister and believes this renews her musicianship while she teaches young people in the schools. In recent years, she performed with the East Bay Symphonic Band (EBSB), Castro Valley Orchestra, Sunnyvale Community Players, Awesöme Orchestra Collective, and the San Francisco Wind Symphony. She served as Treasurer of the Board for the EBSB, a 501(c)(3) organization. 

She recently worked for San José State as a project advisor for graduate students in the Music Education summer masters program.

Ms. Work was Made In Hayward and attended Southgate Elementary, King Middle, and Mt. Eden High School.