Mezzo-soprano Esther Jo, from Seoul, South Korea, recently completed a Performer Diploma and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma with a Performance Fellowship and full scholarship at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Jane Dutton. 

With the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater, she portrayed Carmen in Bizet's Carmen, La Zia Principessa in Puccini's Suor Angelica, and Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. She also appeared in opera workshops led by Carol Vaness and Zachary Coates, Heidi Grant Murphy, and Michael Shell, performing the roles of Queen Gertrude in Thomas' 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 Graduate Fellowship Competition. Jo has worked closely with conductors Louis Lohraseb, Arthur Fagen, David Neely, Daniela Candillari, and Walter Huff, and directors Keturah Stickann, Michael Shell, and Jose Maria Condemi, and coaches Gary Arvin, Kevin Murphy, Jennifer Ringo, Charles Prestinari, Allan Armstrong, and Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad on her opera performances.

At Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, Jo graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music, earning multiple merit-based full scholarships, an exclusive teaching certification, and ranking among the top three students in the voice department. She continued in the Master of Music program with full scholarships and research assistantships, was awarded the Excellent Doctoral Scholarship, and admitted to the Doctoral program. 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 Music Program Voice Fellow at Yewool Music Stage, earning international recognition. 

* Jo was selected for many prestigious programs but was unable to participate due to personal circumstances. These include the Jan Miller Studio Artist (resident artist) for Pensacola Opera’s 2025-2026 season, a Studio Artist for Opera San Antonio Young Artist Program, an Opera Studio Artist at AIMS in Graz, a Voice Fellow at Opernfest Prague, Vienna Summer Music Festival, Chicago Summer Opera, Miami Music Festival, Songfest, among others.