Dr. Felicia Rojas is extremely excited to be joining the MWROC faculty for the first time this year. A Grammy nominated violinist/vocalist based in Lubbock, Texas, she holds a bachelor’s from Baldwin-Wallace University (2010) and a master’s (2012) and doctorate of musical arts (2015) in violin performance from Texas Tech University. Though her training was rooted in traditional classical technique, she independently explored other genres from a young age, from pop to country to punk and metal, as well as traditional folk musics, beginning with Peruvian Musica Criolla (along with her family’s group Los Rojas) and branching out to Celtic and Mariachi during her graduate studies.

Felicia has also always had an interest in singing in various other languages. Though she did not grow up speaking Spanish at home, she pursued singing traditional Peruvian valses in Spanish, followed by Japanese due to her love of anime, Italian and German in her voice lessons, and finally Korean, Chinese, and Gaelic during her graduate studies.

Following the completion of her doctorate in 2015, Felicia decided to pursue a career in commercial music rather than classical, initially joining the Two-Time Grammy Award-winning, all-female Mariachi Divas for a year and a half. Since then, she has performed with artists such as Lila Downs, Jeff Williams (former Berklee professor of composition and composer of the Rooster Teeth series RWBY) and Casey Lee Williams. She has been involved with two large-scale charity projects with Mason Lieberman (former senior game composer at Tencent): a cover of “The Real Folk Blues” from Cowboy Bebop with Yoko Kano and the Seatbelts and “Might U” + “You Say Run” from the popular anime My Hero Academia, featuring over 80 musicians and English dub cast members. Her band AoE “Area of Effect” (currently on hiatus and pending rebranding) performs covers of popular anime and video game songs.

Most recently, Felicia has become a member of Mariachi Rock Revolution, a band led by Haydn Vitera which seamlessly blends traditional mariachi with modern rock and metal elements for an electrifying experience that will satisfy both the younger crowd and the abuelitos alike. Her powerful vocals, artful viper playing, and captivating stage presence have earned her the nickname “Dr. Metal” among her bandmates.

“Dr. Metal” also spends a good amount of time teaching. She maintains a private lesson studio, teaching both violin and voice, both classical and mariachi, and encourages students to learn their favorite music by ear while stressing the importance of good technique for versatility across all genres. Her students consistently earn superior ratings at solo and ensemble and are often section leaders or high achievers in their school orchestras and mariachis. She coaches both the Lubbock High School and Coronado High School Mariachi violins and vocalists, both of whom recently received excellent ratings at state competition, has coached sectionals for the Texas Tech Mariachi Los Matadores, and has served as guest clinician at Baylor University (2025), assisting in preparing their Mariachi ensemble for its very first performance as an official ensemble of the School of Music. Dr. Rojas is extremely passionate about inspiring young musicians to work hard, follow their dreams, and play the music they love, whether they become professional musicians or not.

Visit Felicia’s website at feliciarojas.com/ to find out more about this incredible artist and to connect with her on socials!