Maria Bessmeltseva, Russian-born violinist, began her studies at the age of six and entered the Special Music School of Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory, where she was working with Alla Aranovskaya, the first violinist of the award-winning "St. Petersburg String Quartet". From an early age Maria performed in St. Petersburg concert halls such as Glinka Philharmonic Chamber Hall and St. Petersburg State Capella.
At the age of 16 Maria moved from Russia to study in United States of America. She was invited to study at Oberlin Conservatory of Music with Gregory Fulkerson and Alla Aranovskaya. During her studies she participated in numerous master classes and chamber music coachings with many recognizable artists such as Jennifer Koh, Pacifica Quartet, Milan Vitek, Roger Chase, Taras Gabora, Jennifer Koh, and Richard Goode.
In May 2005, Maria entered Bowling Green State University with an assistantship to play in the Graduate String Quartet and the 2006-2007 Philharmonia Orchestra concert seasons as concertmaster. Currently, Maria is working on her DMA in violin performance at the University of Michigan 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. Maria also had opportunities to work with Aaron Berofsky, Andrew Jennings and Martin Katz in master classes and coachings.
Maria’s main passion in life is playing chamber music. Currently, she is a member of the La Vita Piano Trio. The group has performed throughout the United States and has participated in many competitions. Recently, the trio took several awards at the John and Daniel Rutenberg Chamber Music Competition and Festival. Maria also has presented chamber music recitals collaborating with such artists such as Theodore Arm, Brinton Smith, Tom Kraines, Christoph Huebner, Lydia Frumkin and Yehonatan Berick.