The Artists

Virginia Luque

Music Director & Founder

World-renowned guitar virtuoso Virginia Luque has turned her talents toward humanitarian relief as founder of Music for Life NYC and Director of The New York Women's Philharmonic, a non- profit organization dedicated to humanitarian relief and cultural outreach through the musical arts. A native of Algeciras (Cadiz), Spain, Ms. Luque began studying privately at the age of 11 with musical legend, guitarist Andres Segovia. Since then, she has performed in major concert halls around the world, thrilling audiences with her unparalleled performances of exquisite musicianship and beauty.

Ana Maria Martinez

soprano

Ana María Martínez's dramatic range distinguishes her as one of today's most sophisticated lyric sopranos. Her career spans the world's opera houses, concert halls, recording studios and movie theatres, and she continues to engage her audiences both with her signature roles and with new and exciting debuts on stage. Released to critical acclaim is her recorded solo effort, simply titled Ana María Martínez - Soprano Songs and Arias, recorded with the Prague Philharmonia conducted by Steven Mercurio on Naxos. Ms. Martinez began the 2009 - 2010 season on tour with Placido Domingo for concerts in Cartagena and Lima, Peru. She then returned to the stages of Lyric Opera of Chicago following her 2008 debut as Nedda in I Pagliacci, this time as Marguerite in Faust, which marked her debut in the role.

Sonia Rubinsky

pianist

Sonia Rubinsky exemplifies the great tradition of virtuoso pianists: a profound and serious musical commitment combined with an exciting and refined technical gift. Her ongoing drive to learn new repertoire has resulted in an active body of works that includes numerous concertos and countless solo works encompassing all periods. Ms. Rubinsky is the winner of the 2009 Latin GRAMMY® Award for Best Recording of the Year for the 8th Villa-Lobos CD from the series: Complete Piano Works by Heitor VillaLobos (8CDs), Naxos. She has also recorded Mozart, Scarlatti, Debussy and Messiaen. Ms. Rubinsky is the 2006 and 2009 recipient of the Carlos Gomes Award. She holds a Doctor of Arts Degree from The Juilliard School, and is Artist-in-Residence at the Aldwell Center in Jerusalem, Israel.

Elisa Brown

soprano

American soprano Elisa Brown has performed extensively for The Zaraspe Foundation and other philanthropic organizations around the world to help raise awareness for the less fortunate. For her Carnegie Hall debut, Ms. Brown performed the opening composition especially written for her to commemorate the inaugural concert of the New York Women’s Ensemble. Ms. Brown has been a featured performer throughout the United States and abroad, singing a wide range of vocal styles from her Off-Broadway performance in the lead role in the Italian Baroque-inspired Spirito e Core –a show she created and produced, Kenneth Cooper conducting – to Lyric Tango and Zarzuela performances in South America and Spain, to performing contemporary works for soprano and chamber ensemble for the New York-based Composer’s Voice.