Zaira Meneses

Mexican classical guitarist Zaira Meneses has been highly acclaimed by international media. Of her work, The New York Times wrote, [she is] “an arresting performer full of colorful touches.” The Providence Journal referred to her as the “Mexican classical dynamo” and The Boston Globe called her [an] “eminent classical guitarist.” 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. Meneses became the first female classical guitarist ambassador of the son jarocho dancer, singer, Jarana and requinto player in Boston thanks to the support of a grant from The Boston Foundation obtained in 2018. Meneses is the founder and president of non-profit organization Latin American Music Festival, founder and executive director of orchestra "Unidos", founder of Eliot Fisk Guitar Academy (EFGA), and has been co-director of the Boston Guitar Festival for the past twenty years. In 2019, Leo Brouwer composed six preludes for Meneses to be recorded in 2025, together with Brouwer's latest composition: "Danza Macabra" dedicated to Meneses to perform with the Boston Pops. The music was commissioned by the Eileen L. McDonagh & Robert E. Davoli Charitable Foundation, the Latin American Music Festival, and the Augustine Foundation.