Wednesday, February 23, 2022
7:30 pm EST
WPAC Concert Hall
$20 general, $15 senior/FIU faculty, staff, & alumni, $10 student
Masterclass
Thursday, February 24, 2022
9:00 am EST
WPAC Concert Hall
Free admission
2022 MIGF Festival Pass
is available to attend all festival events at a single reduced price: $100 general, $70 senior/FIU faculty, staff, & alumni, $30 student
Zaira Meneses is among the most exciting performers on the international classical guitar, dancer, singer and Son Jarocho performance artist. She grew up in Xalapa Veracruz with folk Son Jarocho dance, flamenco dance and voice lessons. Studying both classical guitar and voice from an early age and appearing frequently in a wide variety of venues both as a guitarist and singer, she traveled widely, performing with the famed Orquesta de Guitarras founded by Maestro Alfonso Moreno.
In 2018 was awarded by the Boston Foundation to bring for the first time in Massachusetts authentic “ Son Jarocho music ” with Jaranas and requintos from Veracruz. In the same year, she performed onstage with the Cuban world famous composer, guitarist and conductor: Leo Brouwer. A year later she was invited as the only classical guitarist to perform and be part of his documentary: “ Brouwer, el origen de la Sombra” filmed in Havana, Cuba.
Meneses became the first Mexican female ambassador of the Son Jarocho dancer, singer, Jarana and requinto player in Boston. She obtained her Master Degree at New England Conservatory of Music in 2009 as a Performance Major in Classical Guitar. Since moving to the USA in 2001, Meneses has built a stellar reputation for her warm sound, limpid technique, and superb natural musicality, performing in many of the great concert halls of the world, including Boston’s Jordan Hall, New York City’s Alice Tully Hall, 92nd St. YHMA and Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Pick – Staiger Auditorium and in Salzburg’s Wiener Saal.
At the age of 17 and as the youngest contestant, she won first prize in the international guitar concerto competition in the Mexican guitar mecca of Parcho Michoacán. This success led to performances of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Concierto Madrigal for two guitars throughout Mexico.
Since 2018, Meneses has been the director of a Latin American Music Festival. She is the Co Director of the recognized Boston Guitar Fest. She is the founder and President of a new entrepreneurial online academy: “EFGA Music” created in 2020, the Academy is named after the world famous classical guitarist Eliot Fisk.
