Maria Lazarova, soprano, earned her Bachelor of Music degree form California State University, Long Beach and her Masters of Music degree from the University of Southern California. She is currently earning her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree with a concentration in vocal pedagogy, music education, and stage directing form the University of Southern California.

Ms. Lazarova was born in Bulgaria and has lived in Algeria, France, and Italy. Residing in Southern California for the last fifteen years, she has performed as a soloist in numerous venues, including the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Irvine Bowl, Barclay Theatre, Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Ahmanson Theatre, and the Hollywood Bowl. Ms. Lazarova's solo opera repertoire includes roles in Cendrillon, Dido and Aeneas, La Calisto, The Medium, Turandot, Abduction from the Seraglio, Madame Butterfly, The Hand of Bridge, and Dead Man Walking. As the recipient of the Giovanni Colao Scholarship in 2001, she attended Istituto Europeo in Florence, Italy and was selected to perform a solo recital in the historical site, Chiesa di Santa Maria die Ricci. Ms. Lazarova has won numerous competitions and scholarships, some of which include the Marilyn Horn Scholarship, the International Liszt Competition, the Long Beach Mozart Festival Vocal Competition, the Brentwood/Westwood Symphony Orchestra Competition, the Young Musicians Foundation Solo Competition, the CSULB Concerto Competition, and the New York Alumni Scholarship. Her vocal coaches include Brent Mcmunn, Alan Smith, Katherine Olsen, Mark Robson, Bill Vendice, and Henri Venanzi.

Ms. Lazarova maintains a private voice studio and is currently teaching private vocal instruction and voice classes at CSULB and USC. As part of her continuing interest and pursuit of excellence in the field of music education, Ms. Lazarova was a lecturer in the most resent International Society of Music Educators World Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Other professional affiliations include the American Guild of Musical Artists, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and Pi Kappa Lambda.