ABOUT
Mezzo soprano Melinda Martinez Becker is a multi-faceted performer singing a diverse repertoire of baroque, contemporary classical, mariachi, popular, and experimental works. Her New Mexican and Jewish heritage shapes her career as a performer of art song in Spanish, Ladino, Yiddish and a variety of other languages.
As a soloist and chamber musician, she is recognized for her interpretations of various styles of music: "Throughout the program, mezzo-soprano Becker effortlessly switched tracks, from light Baroque singing to all the various demands of the new works". (San Francisco Classical Voice) She is known for her "...notably expressive" vocal talents "particularly in light of all the styles she ha[s] to negotiate". (The Rehearsal Studio) In addition to performing throughout the Bay Area, she has performed in Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Austria, and France.
Recent projects include the fall 2025 release of Canto Caló, an album of music exploring New Mexican identity and heritage by Nicolás Lell Benavides in collaboration with Friction Quartet on Aerocade Music. In 2026, she will record Kanta Judezmo, a ten-movement oratorio in the endangered Ladino language by bassist Sascha Jacobsen. Recording will take place in collaboration with the Musical Art Quintet and flamenco guitarist Carlos Caminos.
Melinda’s collaborations with emerging new music composers and ensembles include projects with Nicolas Lell Benavides, Friction Quartet, Brian Baumbusch, Emily Koh, Mahsa Vahdat, George Hurd, Musical Art Quintet, and as a soloist with the Classical Revolution Orchestra and Ukiah Symphony Orchestra.
She is dedicated to performing, championing, and the education of music by underrepresented groups. Melinda earned her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Catherine Cook. Through Project Canción Española at the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid, and Música en Compostela in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, she studied Spanish chamber music and art song, as well as pursued post-graduate studies at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in France.
As an educator, Melinda has taught at Dominican University, International High School/ French American International School, the University of Strasbourg, Marymount College, and was an Artist in Residence at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. She teaches voice lessons in San Francisco.
As a soloist and chamber musician, she is recognized for her interpretations of various styles of music: "Throughout the program, mezzo-soprano Becker effortlessly switched tracks, from light Baroque singing to all the various demands of the new works". (San Francisco Classical Voice) She is known for her "...notably expressive" vocal talents "particularly in light of all the styles she ha[s] to negotiate". (The Rehearsal Studio) In addition to performing throughout the Bay Area, she has performed in Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Austria, and France.
Recent projects include the fall 2025 release of Canto Caló, an album of music exploring New Mexican identity and heritage by Nicolás Lell Benavides in collaboration with Friction Quartet on Aerocade Music. In 2026, she will record Kanta Judezmo, a ten-movement oratorio in the endangered Ladino language by bassist Sascha Jacobsen. Recording will take place in collaboration with the Musical Art Quintet and flamenco guitarist Carlos Caminos.
Melinda’s collaborations with emerging new music composers and ensembles include projects with Nicolas Lell Benavides, Friction Quartet, Brian Baumbusch, Emily Koh, Mahsa Vahdat, George Hurd, Musical Art Quintet, and as a soloist with the Classical Revolution Orchestra and Ukiah Symphony Orchestra.
She is dedicated to performing, championing, and the education of music by underrepresented groups. Melinda earned her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Catherine Cook. Through Project Canción Española at the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid, and Música en Compostela in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, she studied Spanish chamber music and art song, as well as pursued post-graduate studies at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in France.
As an educator, Melinda has taught at Dominican University, International High School/ French American International School, the University of Strasbourg, Marymount College, and was an Artist in Residence at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. She teaches voice lessons in San Francisco.