Maya Burns

Biography

Maya Burns is a bilingual vocalist and composer known for her acclaimed work across theater, television and the concert stage. Her talent stands out in the composition and performance of the main theme song for the Netflix series The Secret Of The River, created alongside Gus Reyes (Sundance Fellow Composer) and Andrés Sánchez (Zoé) which reached and held the #1 spot on the Netflix Mexico Top 10 list for 3 consecutive weeks.

She also composed and directed the music for Extras (2016), a play written by Sabina Berman and starring the Bichir Brothers, whose production was critically acclaimed and received the L.A. Times Critics’ Choice Award.

“Adding emotional resonance is the original score composed and performed by young prodigy Maya Burns…,” wrote Philip Brandes for the L.A. Times, highlighting her ability to craft musical landscapes that deepen stories and their characters.

In February 2026, she was selected by EFIARTES to present an original repertoire at Allende 637. Just one week later, she performed as a special guest at Patrick Watson’s concert, appearing as part of the main concert at the Blackberry Auditorium.

Her style—Californian Folk interwoven with influences of Mexican music, Bolero, Jazz, Blues, and Vintage Rock/Pop—creates a sound that is both uniquely her own and simultaneously familiar and fresh. Her work celebrates cultural diversity and emphasizes shared humanity, building emotional bridges between different worlds.

Versatile and multifaceted, Maya has collaborated with big bands as well as folk, blues, and rock projects; she also performs as a soloist or in a duo, accompanying herself on guitar and piano. She adds to this the distinctive tone of the alto saxophone and a three-octave vocal range in constant expansion, allowing her to explore a wide palette of expressive colors.

With deep artistic sensitivity, Maya has composed more than 80 songs and recently created her first work for string quartet and voice or oboe, The Secret Language of Trees, selected as a winning composition by Cepromusic’s 2025 Reading Sessions.

Born in Monterey California, she grew up from the age of four between the Bay of Ensenada and the highways of California. The daughter of nomadic artisans who sell hippie tie-dye at music festivals and public spaces, her childhood unfolded between a wheel-less trailer near the sea in Baja and a traveling work van. Immersed in music, color, and a life in motion, she found her artistic voice at an early age.

As a child, Maya lived between two worlds: the free-spirited life of the road and public school in Mexico. It was there, in kindergarten, that she discovered her love for Mexican music while learning Spanish. A school worker named Gloria gifted her albums by Pedro Infante, Aída Cuevas, and Linda Ronstadt—music that blended with her family’s influences of Pink Floyd, Queen, and Jefferson Airplane. That mix of roots shaped the sonic identity that now defines her. By the age of eight, she was already singing rancheras and classic rock at Woodstock-style festivals and recording homemade albums she sold alongside her family.

A YouTube video led to her being discovered by Linda Ronstadt, who invited her to perform at her Mariachi Festival in San José, California, where Maya opened Aída Cuevas’ concert. Selected by Baja California’s Artistic Talents program, she sang at national events—including a performance for the President of Mexico—before even finishing elementary school.

“Maya reminds me of a young Lola Beltrán.” — Linda Ronstadt

During middle and high school, which she completed through homeschooling, she delved deeper into jazz and joined the Covacha Big Band (2015), leading to performances in the Valle de Guadalupe and later to the premiere of her own compositions with the Jazzatlán Big Band Headlining the Jazzatlán Festival (2018).

Her career has brought her to iconic stages such as Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Bellas Artes, and the Lunario of the Auditorio Nacional, as well as festivals like Vive Latino. In New York, she performed as a headlining artist at the Mexico Now Festival (2019).

She has worked with artists such as Mon Laferte and Vivir Quintana, and toured the United States with La Santa Cecilia. In 2025, she collaborated as a composer and singer on Patrick Watson’s album, contributing to the single Choir in the Wires.

With each project, Maya continues to build sonic bridges that unite cultures and celebrate human connection. Her message resonates in the lyrics of her song Un Solo Mundo (translated from Spanish)

“Our skin is clay, from many soils,
and all of the beauty is incomparable;
not worth more, or less,
even if they are unknown,
our skin is clay from many lands.”