Meet our Artist of the Week – Award Winning Soprano Larisa Martínez!
Ms. Martinez will delight our audience with her beautiful voice, singing with four cellos at the Season Opening Concert, September 23rd at 7:30pm @ Interface
We sat down with Larisa to get to know her a little bit better and this is what we learned:
MT: Tell us a little about the experience Growing up in Puerto rico: The music scene there, how did you start singing, when did opera come into play?
Larisa: I grew up listening to old Spanish boleros, “standards” of the Latin-American repertoire which my mother loved. I started singing and performing on stage when I was in the 3rd grade. I would always take part in local Talent Shows where I would sing, dance, act, you name it! In my early teens, I started taking singing, piano, and music theory lessons at the Music Conservatory of PR. I later joined the National Choir as well, where I was introduced to the classical vocal repertoire. There I was encouraged to become a soloist and everything else developed and expanded from these initial experiences.
MT: Who were some of your role models growing up? what do you mostly draw your inspiration from these days?
Larisa: Surprisingly, most of the artists I draw my inspiration from are not from the classical music world at all! Growing up I remember being enthralled by people like Raul Juliá, Meryl Streep and Julie Andrews who are still some of my favorite idols. More recently I have been obsessed with Rita Hayworth and Chita Rivera.
MT: How did the Bach in Brazil project come about? What do you love about the Bachians Brasilieras?
Larisa: I have been wanting to sing Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Brazilian Composer Villa Lobos since the moment I first heard it many years ago. The combination of the cello ensemble with voice is just so special to me. The project came about after a casual lunch with my dear friend and cellist Elad Kabilio. We had been wanting to collaborate for a while and so, while sipping our coffees, we found repertoire we were both passionate about. Bachianas was at the top of the list and we were just determined to make it happen. A month and a half later we had already performed it for the first time.
MT: You recently visited Cuba with a delegation of artists, tell us more about the experience?
Larisa: I was honored to have been asked to be part of the delegation of artists sent by the White House to Cuba with the goal of deepening relationships between our two countries through the arts. It was thrilling to perform alongside artists such as Dave Matthews, Smokey Robinson, and Usher among many others, and to mingle and collaborate with legendary Cuban musicians such as Carlos Varela, Aldo Lopez-Gavilán and the Chamber Orchestra of Havana. The fact that I grew up 90 miles away from Cuba and am a native speaker came in handy as I was often asked to translate! The whole experience culminated with a Live from Lincoln Center TV Special called Joshua Bell: Seasons of Cuba, involving many of the artists of this trip, both Cuban and American and will air on December 16th 2016 on PBS. (You can view below a photo from this incredible concert)
This incredible journey has inspired me to add some Cuban music into the mix at the Bach in Brazil project.
