Maria Bessmeltseva was born in 1983 in St. Petersburg, Russia and began her violin studies at the age of six and entered the Special Music School of Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. When she was 11 years old she began to study with Alla Aranovskaya, the first violinist of the award-winning "St. Petersburg String Quartet" until Maria graduated in 2001.
After graduating the Special Music School of Rimsky-Korsakov Maria was invited to study at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio with Gregory Fulkerson and Alla Aranovskaya. She participated in masterclasses and chamber music coachings with many recognizable artists such as Milan Vitek, Roger Chase, Taras Gabora, Jennifer Koh, and Richard Goode.
In May 2005 Maria graduated from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and entered Bowling Green State University with an assistantship to play in the Graduate String Quartet and the 2006-2007 concert season as concertmaster of the BGSU Philharmonia Orchestra. She studied with Vasile Beluska and participated in masterclasses with Pacifica String Quartet and had chamber music coaching with Csaba Erdely.
Maria graduated Bowling Green State University in May 2007 and entered the University of Michigan for her DMA in violin performance studying with Yehonatan Berick. In 2008 Maria was chosen to represent the University of Michigan in "The Conservatory Project" in Washington DC and performed at the Kennedy Center on Millennium Stage. In the same year, Maria also performed in New York's, Carnegie Hall as an orchestra member of the University of Michigan. In 2009 Maria had an opportunity to participate in a masterclass with Menahem Pressler, the founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio.
Maria has also participated in many summer music festivals and masterclasses. In 1999 and 2000 Maria took part in the Musicorda String Festival in Massachusetts and won the 1999 Concerto Competition at age 16. In 2004 and 2005 she attended the Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy. While there she studied with the Penderecki Quartet. In 2005 she attended masterclasses in the Acadamy of Menuhin Switzerland and in 2006 Maria attended the Hot Spring Music Festival in Arkansas where she won the Concerto Competition and performed the Bach Double Concerto for two Violins and Orchestra. In 2008 she attended the Killington Summer Music Festival in Vermont as an apprentice and performed chamber music concerts with the string faculty as well as participated in masterclasses with notable artists including Alice Schonefield. Most recently, Maria particpated in the 2009 Colorado College Summer Festival.