About

Mezzo-soprano Esther Jo, a native of Seoul, South Korea, is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Jane Dutton, supported by a Performance Fellowship and full scholarship. She recently completed her Performer Diploma, earning a Performer’s Certificate under the same support.

This summer, she joined Opera Maine as a Studio Artist, covering Gertrude in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and performing Khanh in Ruo's Bound, and appeared as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.

With Indiana University Opera Theater, she portrayed the title role in Bizet's Carmen, Madame de la Haltière in Massenet's Cendrillon, La Zia Principessa in Puccini's Suor Angelica, and Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, and will soon appear as Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo. She also appeared in opera workshops led by Heidi Grant Murphy, Carol Vaness and Zachary Coates, and Michael Shell, performing the roles of Charlotte in Massenet's Werther, Reine Gertrude in Thomas's Hamlet, Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, and Carmen in Bizet's Carmen. 

She was chosen as one of the participants in a masterclass with Stuart Skelton and was also named a finalist in the prestigious Georgina Joshi Foundation Competition. She further expanded her artistic career in Europe as a Faculty-Nominated Artist and Competition Winner in the Jacobs Berlin Performance Program, taking masterclasses with Klaus Sallmann, Uwe Griem, Brenden Gunnell, Byron Knutson, Viviana Barrios, and Trevor John Pichanik, which were held in Berlin and Leipzig. She then made a successful debut at the Mendelssohn-Remise. 

Jo has worked closely with conductors Arthur Fagen, David Neely, Israel Gursky, Louis Lohraseb, Daniela Candillari, Walter Huff, Betsy Burleigh, and Lance Inouye, as well as directors Dona D. Vaughn, Michael Shell, Gregory Keller, Keturah Stickann, Robin Guarino, Richard Gammon, and Jose Maria Condemi, and coaches Gary Arvin, Kevin Murphy, Allan Armstrong, Charles Prestinari, Jennifer Ringo, Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad, Stefano de Peppo, James Maverick, Matthew Gemmill, and Brendon Shapiro.

At Hanyang University in Seoul, Jo graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music, receiving multiple merit-based full scholarships, a secondary school teaching certification, and ranking among the top three students in the voice department. She subsequently earned her Master of Music with full scholarship and research assistantship. Under the guidance of Locky Chung and Su-gil Park in Korea, Jo performed Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto (a co-production of Hanyang University and the Seongdong Cultural Foundation), Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and Dritte Dame in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, among other roles.

As an alto soloist, she has sung in oratorios such as Charpentier’s Te Deum, Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major, Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, and Schütz’s Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz. She further refined her artistry through masterclasses with Mutsumi Moteki and as a Voice Fellow at Yewool Music Stage, earning international recognition.