Biography
Angelic is the word that has most often been used to describe the silvery, pure, sweet tone of Esther Heideman's vocal artistry. In 2000, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Licia Albanese Competition. In 2001, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. These performances were immediately followed by her debut with the New York Philharmonic in Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and her European debut with the Prague Radio Symphony, singing in Mahler's Second Symphony.
Ms. Heideman's career began with her Carnegie Hall debut, singing Handel's Messiah. Since this time, she has performed with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe such as the Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Berkshire Choral Festival, Pacific Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Boston Baroque, Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to performing the staples of traditional concert repertoire, such as Haydn's Creation, 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 composer. These have included the role of Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen's opera Barnum's Bird (Plymouth Music Series, Philip Brunelle), Sister Angelica in The Three Hermits by Stephen Paulus, and The Revelation of St. John by Daniel Schnyder (with the Orquestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu under Sebastian Weigel and Milwaukee Symphony under Andreas Delfs), as well as Deus Passus by Wolfgang Rihm (Rotterdam Philharmonic, Markus Stenz).
As a native midwesterner, Ms. Heideman has performed frequently in Minnesota. She has been a featured soloist with quality ensembles like the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, performing with them in more than 30 different concerts, ranging from Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiemand Le Nozze di Figaro, to Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilege, Berg's Seven Early Songs, and Kernis Simple Songs. She has had the great fortune of working with such notable conductors as David Zinman, Eiji Oue, Jeffrey Tate, Bernhard Klee, Ingo Metzmacher, Thomas Ades, David Alan Miller, and William Eddins. While singing with the Minnesota Orchestra, her vocal prowess was even compared to the fine tunings of a Stradivarian violin.
Ms. Heideman's upcoming international engagements include a recital in Beijing, China, as well as teaching masterclasses there. In the US she can be heard singing Previn's Honey and Rue, and various Gershwin songs with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Faure's Requiem with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, La Boheme highlights with the LIncoln Symphony Orchestra, Mahler's Symphony # 2 with the Bridgehampton Choral Society, MET Museum, and Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, Handel's Messiah with the National Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, and a concert with J. Reilly Lewis, Orff's Carmina Burana with the Acadiana Symphony, and the Poulenc Gloria and Beethoven's Symphony # 9 with the Modesto Symphony. Beyond her singing career, Ms. Heideman also enjoys teaching lessons and masterclasses and sharing her knowledge and experience with young performers.
