Biography

Operachi Singer Dr. Juanita Ulloa

Short Biography

Dr. Juanita Ulloa is an Operachi singer/pianist/songwriter, linguist, and author with 30 years of international solo concerts in Spain, Mexico, Latin America, and the USA, along with seven prize-winning Mexican folksong CDs and five songbook publications to her credit (Classical Vocal Reprints). She champions under-represented vocal works and folk music from Mexico, Spain, and Latin America, as well as women composers and children’s bilingual songs with her own originals. A former opera singer, Dr. Juanita Ulloa is a pioneer for inclusivity and diversity in commercial song (CM) alongside classical singing, the common thread being the solid vocal technique. She works closely on the boards for various chapters of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (SFBAC-NATS and CCC-NATS).

Dr. Ulloa trains vocally with Jane Randolph and holds music degrees from Yale University, UC Berkeley, and the University of Northern Colorado. The songstress has taught at Austin Community College, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and Texas State University. She currently teaches voice at San Joaquin Delta College and Laney Community College in Northern California, along with a private voice studio training singers online and in person from many countries. She is frequently sought after by universities and conferences for master classes, concerts, and workshops in Mexico, the United States, and abroad, especially celebrating her new landmark book authored with Oxford University Press: THE MARIACHI VOICE: Amazon or Oxford University Press.

Full Biography

Operachi Singer Dr. Juanita Ulloa

D.A. Vocal Performance

Reviewed alongside Santana as “an artist in a niche of her own” (Hispanic Magazine), Juanita Ulloa sings to inspire global beauty and transform others through vocal training. Her intention is to highlight and reflect the largely under-represented beauty, diversity, and power of Mexican and Latin American vocal traditions (folkloric/classical), of which she has unparalleled knowledge. She also makes a point of championing the words and songs by women and has taken this message through concerts nationally and internationally. She pioneers the role of Operachi songstress, Professor of Voice, Scholar/Author, Pianist, and occasional Songwriter.

Dr. Juanita Ulloa has concertized as a soloist in Spain, Latin America, and the United States for over three decades often working as a musical ambassador to Mexican Embassy events. She has appeared as a soloist at international Olympic and major stadiums and arts centers, festivals, adjudication for competitions, concerts, master classes, and Latin Pops symphonies. Juanita is a six-time winner of Festival de la canción latinoamericana but has also won classical NATS competitions (Colorado-Wyoming). In 2020, she introduced mariachi singing as a commercial vocal category at SFBAC and CCC Chapters of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) in Northern California, along with Cal-Western Regional NATS. She has inspired many students to compete and win singing ranchera songs at NATS and has presented and offered master classes and workshops on both mariachi and Mexican songs numerous times at national, regional, and local NATS conference levels since 2010. She trains primarily with Jane Randolph and trained in Zarzuela in Madrid with Ana María de Iriarte and briefly in France with Dalton Baldwin.

Raised in Mexico City, Panama, and Spain, she has always called Mexico home, alternating between Mexico and California. Dr. Ulloa has several award-winning mariachi/bolero recordings and Canta conmigo, a 5 CD series dedicated to increasing bilingualism in children, some with matching songbooks. Many have won the regional Parent’s Council, Disney, NAPPA, and Parent’s Choice awards. She has won an Addy award for her voice-over for television working with SPCA, a non-profit that rescues animals. She has also done voice-overs for Bank of America, Reader Rabbit, Mail Boxes, Etc., MacMillan/McGraw-Hill, Silver, Burdett, Ginn (Pearson Music), and Scholastic Books.

Her regional opera roles include solo work in California with Pocket Opera, West Bay Opera, Berkeley Opera, Sacramento Opera, and Mother Lode Musical Theatre Company, although her strength has always been in folkloric songs. She has sung mariachi and Latin American pops and programs as a featured soloist with the Stockton Symphony, Sacramento Symphony, Pasadena Pops, La Jolla Orchestra, and Macon Symphony, besides numerous mariachi groups in both the United States and Mexico. Her two favorites have been Mariachi Voz de América (Mujeres y Mariachi CD) and Mariachi Campanas de América (Canta mi son! CD for Kids and Families).

The songstress has also published three sheet music volumes of Gomezanda Mexican art song and rancheras available at Classical Vocal Reprints, and Dr. Ulloa was the first to publish written materials highlighting The Mariachi Voice in the series So You Want to Sing World Music Singing Book sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

Dr. Ulloa holds music degrees from Yale University and UC Berkeley and a doctorate in vocal performance and Hispanic Studies from the University of Northern Colorado (2016). She is certified in the three levels of Somatic Voicework for commercial singing. Juanita was honored to serve as a board governor for NARAS (Grammys) and has taught on music faculties at the University of Texas at El Paso, Texas State University, Northwest Vista College, and Austin Community College, accompanying on piano at the University of Texas in San Antonio. She has a hybrid national voice studio and teaches at Laney Community College in Oakland, CA, and San Joaquin Delta Community College while offering master classes, concerts, and voice training at universities internationally. Her 2024 global book release, THE MARIACHI VOICE, is authored in collaboration with Oxford University Press and is available on Amazon and every other quality bookstore.

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Biografia (En Español)

DRA. JUANITA ULLOA

VOZ/PIANO Y PROFESORA DE INTERPRETACION VOCAL

La cantante y cantautora, Dra. Juanita Ulloa ha sido aclamada como la Excelsa sacerdotisa de Operachi en la revista Hispanicpress.org por su exitoso CD “Mujeres y Mariachi.” Al mismo tiempo ha sido considerada como “una artista con un estilo muy personal” junto con Santana (Mark Halstern, Hispanic Magazine) con su estilo vocal muy única de Operachi, ya sea acompañada por guitarra, piano, mariachi, o ella misma acompañándose en el piano ranchero/clásico. Es una de las primeras cantantes mejicanas de canciones, boleros y rancheras que ha sabido combinar este género con la interpretación y enseñanza de la canción clásica mexicana, española, y latinoamericana. Su motivo es idea componer, cantar, e inspirar a futuros alumnos con las bellezas del repertorio vocal mexicano e hispanoamericano. Su capacitación a nivel clásico también la ha llevado a rescatar y promover canciones clásica de salón de la época nacionalista de México, en particular las obras vocales del pianista y compositor Jaliscience, Maestro Antonio Gomezanda. Su trayectoria es nacional e internacional con conciertos y capacitación de grandes artistas, la cantante de zarzuela Ana María de Iriarte en España y luego pianista Dalton Baldwin en Francia. Dra. Juanita Ulloa fungió de Profesora de interpretación vocal en la Universidad del Texas en El Paso, Texas, (UTEP) Texas State University, y universidades comunitarias en Texas y California de los EEUU. En 2016 se le otorgó título de doctorado en la interpretación vocal, ópera, y estudios hispánicos de la Universidad del norte de Colorado. Antes, estudió etnomusicólogía y estudios de piano en las prestigiosas Universidades de Yale (BA, Music) y Berkeley (MA, Music). Realizó estudios de posgrado en el Conservatorio de Niza (Francia) Cal State Hayward, San Francisco State University y Cal State Humboldt. Ha dado numerosos recitales en el Ateneo de Madrid, en Barcelona y Granada. También ha participado como solista de música popular latinoamericana y mariachi en Estados Unidos, Méjico, Perú, y Europa.

En 2024 estrena su proyecto más grande, el libro THE MARIACHI VOICE, en colaboración con el editorial Oxford University Press (Amazon). También ha escrito tres libros de canciones del Maestro Gomezanda en partituras para voz y piano (Classical Vocal Reprints). De cantautora folklórica escribió y grabó siete CDs de canto mexicano, tres con tema de promover el bilingualism con niños hispanos en EEUU. Las canciones ganaron premios GrIndy, Parent’s Choice, NAPPA, y premios Parent’s Council. Ha sido premiada con un Addy por su trabajo en doblajes de voz en colaboración con la entidad SPCA, refugio nacional estadounidense dedicado a rescatar animales. Trabaja con papeles de doblajes de voz y como autora ha realizado contratos y grabaciones con importantes editores y entidades como Bank of America, Reader Rabbit, Mailboxes, MacMillan/McGraw-Hill, Scholastic Books y Silver, Burdett, Ginn (Pearson Music). La Dra. Ulloa ha participado igualmente en papeles operísticos de Northern California con Pocket Opera, West Bay Opera, Berkeley Opera, Sacramento Opera, y Mother Lode Musical Theater Company. Su pericia sin embargo, es la canción mexicana y latinoamericana, ya sea en la música popular (el folclor).

Juanita Ulloa imparte clases de interpretación vocal y clases magistrales a nivel nacional e internacional en línea y de forma presencial. Imparte clases particulares en el estudio vocal particular “Ulloa Voice Studio” y Delta Community College (Stockton,California), así como Laney Community College (Oakland, California). La Dra. Ulloa interpreta tanto repertorio de mariachi como repertorio sinfónico con orquestas como la Stockton Symphony (CA) bajo la dirección de Peter Jaffe, Pasadena Pops (CA), La Jolla Chamber Orchestra (CA), y Macon Symphony (GA), además de numerosos ensembles de mariachi en Mexico y USA, con su repertorio favorito: Mariachi Voz de America (Mujeres y Mariachi CD) y Mariachi Campanas de America (Canta mi son! CD).

Operachi Singer Dr. Juanita Ulloa

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