This month, our Springboard SPOTLIGHT shines on Eva Rae Martinez, one of our 2018 Springboard Grant Winners. We’re sure you’ll enjoy learning about Eva’s extraordinary talent — up close and personal!
Eva Rae Martinez
At what age did you begin performing and what inspired you to do so?
I started voice lessons at 8 years old after my brother did (I think I just wanted to be included), and I haven’t looked back since! I started flute lessons soon after and I used to sing to my dad in the car for the entire hour it took to get there. I consider those car rides my early performances. Performing is something I’ve always felt that I’ve had to do—my life wouldn’t feel right without it.
What was the most exciting thing that’s happened to you as you’ve pursued the performing arts?
Getting to perform Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with Andris Nelsons conducting this past summer was probably the most incredible thing that I have gotten to opportunity to do in my performing journey. It was so exciting to get to know the process of putting together a piece like that with orchestra—and getting to sing in the Koussevitsky Music Shed! Mahler’s music is so special and I am so grateful to the Tanglewood Music Center for giving me the chance to bring it to life.
What are some stumbling blocks you’ve encountered along the way?
There are many, many emotional ups and downs being in this industry—anyone in the performing arts will agree. It can be very difficult to not take certain opinions to heart as a singer—after all, we are the instrument. Learning to separate your voice from your personhood is so critical to making progress and moving forward in the career. I had to grow some thick skin, but that process was definitely not easy!
Dream big … If you can envision achieving great success in the performing arts, describe what that would that look like?
I think that success to me would look like getting to travel the world and do what I love. It is my dream to see the whole world (and meet everyone in it!!), so I think performing will be the way for me to do that. Performing in any capacity is extremely fulfilling for me, even if it’s just for one person. As long as I can take just one person on a journey outside their own lives, I think I will feel successful.
What’s your favorite genre of music and why?
My favorite genre of music is probably pop. So much of my life is filled with classical music that it is nice to be able to fully unplug from that sometimes with a genre that is so different. I also really love R&B and folk music because it is interesting to see the parallels between all of these genres and classical music—you end up finding that maybe they are more similar than you think. I think bridging the gaps between genres will also help to pique curiosities towards the classical genre of those who may not have listened otherwise. Some of my favorite artists are Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Caroline Polachek, and ABBA.
Have you ever met a really famous performing artist and if so, who was it and what was your interaction?
The highlight of my summer was definitely meeting Dawn Upshaw at Tanglewood. Not only is she a legend in our industry, but she also is easily the most down-to-earth and humble person I have ever met in classical music. She is able to impart such valuable wisdom from her time in the industry while also remaining kind and working towards the same goal that you are. I feel so lucky to have met her.
Describe what you think would be most the most useful or beneficial thing to you, if given the opportunity to mentored by a successful artist?
I think mentorship is such a personal thing for many people, but if I had the opportunity to be mentored by a successful artist, I would want them to impart advice to me that speaks to a life in the industry. A life in classical music is a unique one, and having someone as a mentor who has already forged their own path can be invaluable as a young artist.
As a performing artist, what stands in the way of fulfilling your dreams?
I think one of the biggest obstacles for me is to not get in my own way mentally. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in self-criticism that sometimes you forget to enjoy the performance, and right now I’m working on appreciating my voice and the work I have done instead of getting stuck in the feeling of not being enough.
If you could have lunch with an A-list performing artist, who would that be?
Maria Ewing was one of my favorite artists and she tragically passed away in early 2022. I would definitely have lunch with her because she led such an interesting life and she wasn’t afraid to be polarizing in her craft. She wasn’t scared of being disliked and she sang everything that she wanted to sing, which is so inspiring to me.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
The past four years at Manhattan School of Music, I would take the A train from 125th street which would practically leave me at the front steps of Carnegie Hall!
Favorite Musician: Maria Callas
Favorite Musical Instrument: Cello
Favorite Actor: Javier Bardem
Favorite Actress: Greta Gerwig
Favorite Comedian: Tom Segura
Favorite Dancer: Don’t have one!
Favorite Movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Favorite Show: Frasier
If you couldn’t be a performing artist, what would you like to do?
If I wasn’t a performing artist, I would love to have a career in paleontology—I have always been interested in early life and how we have evolved from then. I also love that it’s a very hands-on career and would allow me the chance to travel and see the world.
Biography
Eva Rae Martinez is a Colombian-American soprano based in New York City. Having graduated from Manhattan School of Music in May of 2023, Eva had the opportunity to perform Poppea in “L’incoronazione di Poppea,” Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the Mozart and Fauré Requiems as soprano soloist, and scenes from “I puritani” (Elvira), “L’elisir d’amore” (Adina), and “Pelléas et Mélisande” (Mélisande) at MSM.
Eva spent this past summer as a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center led by Dawn Upshaw. There, she performed as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony under the baton of Andris Nelsons, and as a featured soloist in recital and chamber ensemble. In addition to her fellowship at the TMC, she was also a vocal fellow at Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy in May of 2023. Eva performed as Juliette in scenes from Gounod’s “Romèo et Juliette” at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival OperaFest and sang Susanna in “Le nozze di Figaro” at the Luke Houser Summer Opera Workshop in 2022.
Eva’s most recent engagement was with the San-Antonio based Olmos Ensemble for a recital with pianist Warren Jones and clarinetist Ilya Shterenberg featuring works of Poulenc, Vaughn Williams, and Schubert. Eva is a New England Region Encouragement Award Winner of the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a 2023 Richard F. Gold Career Grant Recipient, a 2023 Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition Finalist, finalist of the National YoungArts Competition in Miami, Florida, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts Semifinalist, and a recipient of the Bruce Montgomery Foundation for the Arts Springboard Grant. She looks forward to pursuing her Master’s degree in Opera at the Yale School of Music in Fall 2023.
