Today we’d like to introduce you to Eva Mather.
Hi Eva, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Eva has been singing since even before she even could speak full sentences. Like most kids, she started out singing Disney songs and nursery rhymes. She joined the San Diego Children’s Choir when she was 6. During the summer of the pandemic lockdown, Eva loved cheering up the neighbors with mini concerts at the sidewalk in front of our house (due to social distancing). We brought out an amplifier and played backing tracks while she sang Disney songs and pop songs. She was 7 years old and was inspired by the Italians singing to their neighbors from their balconies. Lots of neighbors came to support her and many of the kids were inspired by her to sing as well. Jeff Zevely (CBS8) featured Eva’s COVID concerts in his “Zevely Zone” segment. Eva was so excited, it was her first time being on TV. After that, Eva got opportunities to sing the national anthem for sports teams, first the Carmel Valley Friday Night Lights Flag Football League (which she still sings for today), and later the San Diego Padres, LA Kings, Miramar Air Show, San Diego FC, Gulls, Legion, Seals, Wave, Rugby FC, SDSU Aztecs Men’s Basketball, the Breeder’s Cup at Del Mar. In addition to singing, Eva also became interested in acting, and performed in the Grinch at the Old Globe Theater at Balboa Park. Later, she performed in productions at the San Diego Musical Theater and the North Coast Rep. Meanwhile, Eva kept doing concerts, including shows at the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and December nights at Balboa Park as well as a fundraising concert for the homeless at Spreckel’s Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, sponsored by GIC and Lily Zhou. She especially enjoyed the applause she got from fans, many of whom would approach her after her shows. In addition to singing anthems and pop songs, Eva started learning cultural songs (she is Chinese American). She really enjoyed sharing her cultural heritage by performing Chinese folk songs at events including Chinese New Year’s Festivals in Temecula, LA and San Diego, the API festival and many events at the House of Pacific Relations (HPR) in Balboa Park. She even co-hosted multiple Chinese New Year’s events, including one with Megan Healy and Ariana Cohen from FOX5. For her vocal achievements, cultural performances and charity work, Eva received letters of commendation from California Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, County of San Diego Supervisor Joel Anderson, California State Senator Brian W. Jones, GySgt Justin Grunes (conductor of the 3rd Marine Air Wing Band), Natasha Wong (House of China President), California Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, the Councilmembers and Mayor of the City of Monterey Park, as well as a Presidential Service Award. Eva was honored to be invited to sing the national anthem at the 2024 State of Balboa Park address by Mayor Todd Gloria. When Eva was 11, she started to become interested in classical music, especially opera. She took vocal lessons from Milena Kitic and Barbara Valente and learned how to sing in 9 languages. Quickly she began winning awards. She won the Golden Classical International Music Competition in 2024, which led to her debut performance in Carnegie Hall. Since then, she has won over 28 regional, national and international vocal competitions including the American Protege International Vocal competition, the Amadeus International Music Competition, the Medici International Music Competition, the UK International Music Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall for a second time. Now, at age 13, Eva has become an opera protege with a powerful soprano voice and a refined technique. She loves the timeless beauty and elegance of classical music and revels in sharing her passion for it with audiences. Her favorite opera singer is Edita Gruberova and she hopes to attend the Julliard School in New York City and become a professional opera singer.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The journey has been full of joy with some challenges for Eva. It has been challenging to master the singing techniques. Another challenge has been learning to sing in other languages and this has inspired Eva to take French and Chinese lessons as well as Spanish in school. Eva also studies piano and music theory from Sun Yung Cho, which helps to strengthen her as a musician, but that takes a lot of practice and perseverance. She also gets nervous sometimes before big performances, but luckily has been able to channel that energy to make her performance even better. One of Eva’s challenges has been balancing her school schedule at Carmel Valley Middle School (thanks to the great teachers, staff and curriculum) with after school activities including swimming (she is on the Rancho San Dieguito swim team), singing and acting performances, which take a lot of preparation (in addition to rehearsals and practice, Eva does her own makeup and picks her own outfits).
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Eva is still a student (an 8th grader at Carmel Valley Middle School), but has been compensated for several of her performances. She is known for her powerful and expressive vocal quality as well as her stage presence, poise and ability to engage the audience. In many of her performances, she likes to introduce the stories behind the songs she performs, especially at cultural events. Her performances have been featured on Fox5, CBS8, the USA Network, the San Diego Union Tribune, Del Mar Times, Channel 933 and KSDY50. She often performs at senior centers such as Villa Lorena and St. Paul’s to bring cheer to the residents. Eva values our community and gives back by performing at charity events such as a fundraiser for childhood cancer by Joey’s Wings Foundation and the ACCEF Wings for Nature event to preserve the local environment from wildfires.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was singing the national anthem at my first major sporting event. Ever since I sang my first anthem at Carmel Valley Friday Night Lights, I had dreamed of performing for our beloved San Diego Padres. When Jeff Zevely from CBS8 did a “Zevely Zone” segment at CVFNL, I told him my wish to sing for the Padres and he said “let’s get that done!”. Luckily, I was given the opportunity to sing on August 14, 2024. To help me get familiar with the stadium and sound system, the Padres staff kindly let me be a playball kid some months before. The night before the anthem performance, I could hardly sleep, but the Padres staff were very welcoming and I felt at home. When it was time to perform, I was full of nerves, but I could feel the energy of the packed stadium and knew I could do it. With my heart racing, I put my fears aside and launched into the song. I poured myself into the delivery and it was incredible to hear the cheers during the song. The applause at the end was exhilarating and I was filled with joy and relief. It was an experience I’ll never forget and gave me the confidence to perform at other major venues later. I was thankful to my teachers and parents for helping prepare me and for all their support as well as the Padres entertainment staff.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evazoemather/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qian.zhang.77/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@qqmm11
Image Credits
Wei Liu Photography (for the LA Kings photo)
