Esther Jane Hardenbergh

Esther Jane Hardenbergh enjoys both a rich and varied performing career as well as an active teaching career. She has sung extensively in the United States and Europe, in opera, oratorio and recital. Orchestras that she has appeared with include the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Memphis Symphony, Atlanta Baroque Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Miami Bach Society, North Carolina Symphony, Richmond Symphony, the Handel Choir and Orchestra of Baltimore, Las Cruces Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic and the Boulder Philharmonic. She has toured professionally in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Republic of Georgia, Russia, the Ukraine, as well as France (Paris and Aix-en-Provence). Dr. Hardenbergh has also sung commercial recordings and television specials for ABC and CBS Television in America.

In the spring of 2003, Esther Hardenbergh made her debut with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra in a week of performances under the baton of the famed Maestro Erich Kunzel. The sold-out concerts featured Dr. Hardenbergh as soloist in a performance of Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera and singing Marguerite’s arias from Faust during the original 1925 Phantom of the Opera film, starring Lon Chaney.   In 1999, Dr. Hardenbergh made her Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall debut as the winner of the International Opera Singer Competition and is highly respected as an interpreter of recital repertoire, in particular 19th century German Lieder and 20th century American Art Song. As a recitalist, Dr. Hardenbergh has performed in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Louisiana, California, Oregon, Wyoming, Virginia, Massachusetts, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, California, Vermont and New Hampshire. European recitals include performances in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England and a United States Department of State-sponsored tour of Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. Her operatic performances include the roles of Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Ariadne (Ariadne), Micaela (Carmen), Donna Elvira and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Maruerite (Faust), Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte).

Dr. Hardenbergh is an Associate Professor of Music in Vocal Performance at the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, Florida. She holds degrees from the University of Richmond, Boston University and a Doctorate in Music and Music Education, specializing in Vocal Pedagogy from Teachers College, Columbia University. As a Master Class artist, she has invited to conduct classes around the United States and in Europe, and adjudicated competitions in both the United States and Europe. Her students perform on both the classical and music theatre stages, and have won many prestigious competitions. At the University of Miami, Dr. Hardenbergh currently serves as Chair of the Department of Vocal Performance, as Program Director for Vocal Performance and Director for the University of Miami Frost School of Music at Salzburg.