Martha Lopez is a lyric-coloratura soprano, performer, educator and versatile musician. A native of New Jersey, she began her musical training at the age of 6. First trained as a classical pianist, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Stetson University in 1997. After beginning her career in music education, she shifted her focus to classical singing and earned her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance in 2006 at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Martha’s continued study has taken her to New York for many years, first with voice scholar and author Shirlee Emmons and currently with Rosa Vento.
Martha performs nationally in recital and as a concert soloist. She has performed with Opera Tampa, New Century Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, Pops Orchestra of Sarasota and the North Port Symphony.
While she feels at home on the stage, she enjoys taking the classical art form into new venues, performing art song recitals live over the Internet. Through this new performance vehicle, Martha attracted a worldwide audience, reaching viewers across the United States and in countries such as Argentina, Thailand, Germany and Slovenia.
In 2013, Martha released her debut album, Encanto: Art Songs of Spain and Latin America. The recording is a collection of twenty-three art songs from Spain, Argentina and Cuba featuring the works of Joaquín Turina, Xavier Montsalvatge, Carlos Guastavino, Manuel de Falla, Alberto Ginastera, Fernando Obradors and Ernesto Lecuona. Music critic Celeste Mann wrote, “the clear soprano rings like a bell, highlighting the heartfelt sincerity of this repertoire.”
November 2014 brought the release of Martha’s second album with pianist Lurray Myers, titled Seven Sacred Songs. In November 2016, Martha and Lurray released a collection of seven sweet and peaceful classical and popular Christmas songs from around the world titled It’s for You…for Christmas!
February 2018 brought the release of For the Heart, From the Heart. It is a live concert recording of Martha’s recital in November 2017, featuring the works of Bellini, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc, de Falla and Willis.
From 2011-2014, Martha was the Director of “Ben & I Play for Peace- Sarasota.” Martha, along with musicians across the nation, teamed up with 14 year old guitarist and philanthropist Ben Werdegar in a nationwide benefit concert to raise money for disabled children who need wheelchairs. Our work was recognized by the United States House of Representatives as well as National Public Radio’s “From the Top.”
In 2017, Martha stepped out on the stage as an actor as well. She appeared in the Sarasota Players New Play Reading Festival as Kay, Sheila and Sassy in Connie Schindewolf’s play “High Tech.” In the fall, she appeared in the role of Ofelia in Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Anna in the Tropics” at the Manatee Performing Arts Center.
Martha is part of the Voice faculty at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. She served on the voice faculty at SCF from 2007 to 2019 and returned to the Music department in early 2022. She teaches Applied Voice lessons to both music majors and non-majors. Martha also maintains a private voice and piano studio. When not involved in something musical, you can find Martha on the tennis court!