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ANNAMARIE CARDINALLI

As an infant, after her favorite bedtime stories, it was Segovia's music that lulled her to sleep. AnnaMaria began studying guitar when she was four years old. She grew up performing with children's troops devoted to Hispanic cultural expression. At eleven, AnnaMaria had an experience that would forever change her life--she performed in her first opera, the Santa Fe Opera's 1990 production of La Boheme. AnnaMaria fell in love with opera. Hearing the difference in vocal ability that the discipline of training brings, she desired the ability to use voice as an instrument. At twelve, AnnaMaria found herself in St. Peter's Basilica singing Ave Maria to Pope John Paul II while secretly praying for a career as Carmen. 

AnnaMaria entered her teens with an intensity of focus. Acknowledging that her life's joy and future was music, AnnaMaria devoted hours and hours of her free time to the serious study of instruments and voice. At thirteen, she completed high school and launched a professional career as a solo classical guitarist. Her first contract was with the historic La Fonda Hotel of Santa Fe performing for dinner guests. La Fonda extended her contract numerous times. From that first engagement, AnnaMaria was steadily employed in Santa Fe performing for the Vice-president of Spain, at the pleasure of several governors of New Mexico, at the national conference of Lieutenant Governors, for numerous dignitaries, as well as in the museums, major galleries, hotels, and restaurants. Meanwhile, she succeeded in her academic pursuits and graduated with a scholarship as "Outstanding Student" from the American School. Her book, Why Wait? Graduate!, was published, and she entered university at fourteen. 

A natural entrepreneur, by the time AnnaMaria was fifteen, she had created Musica Mundual Productions and gained national recognition for her business successes. Her first album celebrated her Quinceanera, and as a result, she was profiled in the book entitled Quinceanera. This first album, featured on QVC and international broadcasts, brought AnnaMaria to the attention of an international audience. Subsequently, she performed in Europe and Australia. She was invited to perform a recital at the Kennedy Center representing the Hispanic culture of New Mexico for the Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary State Days Celebration. 

Juggling academics, performance, and running Musica Mundual Productions, AnnaMaria completed her BA, Summa Cum Laude, in Performing Arts at eighteen at St. Mary's College of California, where she was given the Louis Le Fevre Award for outstanding scholarship as a performing arts major. While in California, she recorded two more albums. El Rosario, featuring Spanish-speaking Christian Brothers, professors at St. Mary's, is aired throughout the Spanish-speaking world by EWTN radio and is also used by various organizations to fund scholarships and other financial goals. 
Upon graduation, AnnaMaria returned to Santa Fe to perform the Concierto de Aranjuez and complete her fourth album. At nineteen, AnnaMaria was in the International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, Classical and Light Classical. Recording Spain Never Sleeps with VALLEY ENTERTAINMENT, she began touring with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in performance of the Concierto de Aranjuez. The Adagio, the jewel of the Concierto de Aranjuez, is included in Spain Never Sleeps. AnnaMaria personally marketed the album in Spain and performed for the Crown Prince, the US Ambassador, and other dignitaries, and appeared on Spanish national television. 

Identified as a Hispanic teenage role model, AnnaMaria was frequently featured on television, and numerous articles were written about her and her accomplishments. Musica Mundial Productions began expanding into multimedia. Corporate America discovered AnnaMaria's abilities to attract clients within the Hispanic marketplace. Proctor and Gamble's "Secrets of Success" print campaign brought AnnaMaria into over 400,000 Spanish-speaking households. Applebee's restaurant used AnnaMaria's flamenco guitar to introduce a new menu item to a national audience. Concretizing, television, movies, and videos all opened up new arenas for AnnaMaria's vocal, acting, and guitar talents as she left her teen status behind. Her ability to combine music, business, and academics has remained in constant balance. 

Completing her MA at St. John's College, AnnaMaria was inspired by the Sangre de Cristos that surrounded her and released her sixth solo album, Santa Fe Silver. As an eighteenth generation Santa Fean, AnnaMaria feels a profound connection to the culture that sustained her lineage. The University of Notre Dame's newly established Institute for Latino Studies invited AnnaMaria to become its first student; she will obtain a Ph.D. in Theology. 
Being involved in many projects such as musical contributions to Lullaby, and Good Night, an album given to New Mexican newborns, providing the sound track for the Carmelites' video St. Therese, performances commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, or outreaches to students at risk keeps AnnaMaria accessible to the community. While her studies have taken her on a journey far from Santa Fe, her heart remains with her family at home.