Teacher

“Angelic” is the word most often used to describe the silvery, pure, sweet tone of Esther Heideman’s voice. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Lucia Albanese Competition, Esther Heideman continues to impress audiences around the world with her dynamic stage presence. Ms. Heideman has even been described as having Stradivarius vocal cords.

In 2001, Esther made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. That performance was immediately followed by her debut with the New York Philharmonic, and her European debut with the Prague Radio Symphony. Ms. Heideman's career actually began with the Minnesota Orchestra, where she sang in more than 20 concerts. She moved to NYC and the very next day received word she was scheduled to make her Carnegie Hall debut, singing Handel’s Messiah. Since this time, she has performed with major orchestras throughout world, such as the Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Pops, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing New Music Ensemble, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, National Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Boston Baroque, Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to performing the staples of traditional concert repertoire, such as Beethoven’s Symphony # 9, Mahler’s Symphony #4, Mozart's C minor Mass, Handel's Messiah and Orff's Carmina Burana, Esther Heideman has featured prominently in the premieres of some of today's most respected contemporary composers. These have included the role of Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen’s opera Barnum’s Bird, Sister Angelica in The Three Hermits by Stephen Paulus, Madame V in Casanova by Daniel Schnyder, The Revelation of St. John by Daniel Schnyder, and Deus Passus by Wolfgang Rihm. Ms. Heideman also performs regularly with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and has sung works by Szymanowski, Schoenberg, Essa-Pekka Salonen, Perrera, Druckman, Ravel, Delage, and Albert, to name a few.

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:

Learning to sing requires more than just the ability to make beautiful sounds. To become a professional singer, one must devote endless hours to the craft. They are required to study vocal technique/pedagogy, repertoire, languages, movement, stage presence, and breath. Only through this process will singers start to discover who they truly are, which will allow them to put their own unique voice on the composer’s and poet’s work.

Every student I teach has a different reason for singing: some want to pursue a professional career as a performer or teacher, some just do it for enjoyment, and some take lessons as a form of therapy, as it helps them to connect with emotions and start to release. No matter what their goal is, I try to assist them in the process.

The first step in becoming a singer is the technical study, during which you must peel back the layers of bad habits, misguided thoughts, or misinformation to reveal the beautiful voice inside. This is a very vulnerable process, and requires immense concentration, dedication, and discipline from the student. How you prepare during this phase determines what kind of artist you will become in the future. I focus on the healthy mind and body connection while exploring technique, musicality, artistry, and developing a well-rounded individual. I truly believe the student and teacher must work as one to help the student find his/her own UNIQUE expression that makes them grow from a singer to an artist.

In my studio I teach students with a variety of musical backgrounds and stylistic interests, including, but not limited to, Classical/Opera, Choral, Musical Theater, Spirituals, and Pop/Jazz. Every student in my studio receives my full attention, regardless of their vocal challenges, level of achievement, or ultimate goals. In addition to focusing on vocal technique, I think the singer’s physical and emotional health is critically important. Unlike other instruments, we carry ours inside the body and need to constantly strive for optimum health, as any imbalance can throw off a performance. This entails proper sleep, hydration, physical exercise, meditation/breathing exercises and nutrition, so I started writing blogs on health topics for singers, and that is now transforming into a book that I am currently working on.

The art of singing is built on human emotions, and our job is to convey that to the audience. We need to understand what’s going on inside us, so we can properly honor the composer’s music by expressing it with a deep sense of commitment, imagination, and determination. Every single student I work with has a different knowledge and background, so I strive to create a safe, enthusiastic, collaborative environment for them to learn performance skills. I focus on teaching students how to communicate with the audience, and their colleagues.

Every artist has two voices - The beautiful tones created by vibrating vocal folds, and the one which exists in our thoughts, heart, and spirit, otherwise known as our DIVINE CONNECTION. Singers must learn to listen to that little voice inside of them, which leads them to their innate musicality. This part cannot be taught. No teacher or conductor can tell you how to personalize the music you are singing — you have to find that meaning inside of you, based on your own personal experience in life. However, one must learn how to turn raw emotion into artistic expression. Thus, part of your studies as a singer is to listen to and watch as many live performances as you can, so you can watch how other artists achieve this, and experience how it feels as an audience member. Listening to other singers can result in imitation, but by cultivating a wide range of artistic and musical experiences, a young singer can glean a variety of ideas that can then be coalesced into a unique interpretation of music and text.

My teaching is based on the Enrico Delle Sedie Vocal Art treatises with other breathing exercises and vocalise warm ups, combined with techniques from the Italian and German Schools of Pedagogy. I can see, hear, and feel what is going on when a student sings, so it allows me to work with them on posture/stance, breathing, vibrato, clarity of the phonation, tongue placement, laryngeal position, vowel/consonant placement, and dynamic and expressive control. I also have a wealth of knowledge in Acupressure, Healing herbs, Taichi, Qigong, and Gyrokinesis, Yoga, and Tibetan Singing bowls, allowing me to quickly work with singers using a broad modality of tools.

Singing makes me feel joyful, grateful, and blessed, and my heart bursts with pride when I watch an audience member become overwhelmed with emotions while experiencing a performance! It is truly my honor and privilege to be a singer, and to be entrusted with helping students find their natural voice. My goal is to be supportive, optimistic, and honest in the process. I want to share my knowledge and tools with others, so they may become empowered to find the unique, artistic, beautiful voice inside of them!