Noemí Lugo, from Caracas, Venezuela, studied at the José Ángel Lamas National Conservatory of Music and performed with major orchestras, choral organizations, and opera companies in Venezuela and the United States before earning her doctoral degree in Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Colorado. She has performed with the Opera Metropolitana de Caracas, the Madison Civil Opera, the Madison Symphony, and the University of Wisconsin Opera and Symphony. An Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky, she has been featured as a soloist with various ensembles as well as the Lexington Philharmonic, and has presented lecture recitals across the globe. She is currently working on an anthology of vocal music by Venezuelan composers as well as on the relationship between music and literary culture. Professor Lugo served as Director of Latin American Studies at the University of Kentucky from 2002 to 2004.