Meet Esther González, Ensenada’s Sublime Soprano
text & photos by connie ellig

“When we were young, my father – who loved music – punished my brothers and me by making us listen to opera and classical music,” Esther declares with a smile. “That’s how my taste in music developed. Mario Lanza was one of the first musical influences in my life.”

Blessed with a full lyric soprano voice, Esther formally began singing at age fifteen under the guidance of her high school music teacher, Jesús Véliz, a well-known pianist and vocal coach in Ensenada. After high school, she attended the Pro Música Ensenada, A.C. Academy of Music, where she studied voice with Flavio Becerra and sang in the Pro Música choral ensembles for two years. She later continued her vocal studies with Ignacio Clapés at Ensenada’s Centro de Estudios Musicales (CEM) while, at her father’s request, pursuing a degree in engineering at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), a career path that she abandoned after two years.

Determined to follow her dream, Esther began studying voice with Mary MacKenzie at the Conservatorio de Tijuana in 1998. A year later she was rewarded for her perseverance by winning second place awards in San Diego at both the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus Young Artists Competition and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition.

Believing that there would be greater opportunities to pursue her musical career in the capital of the republic, Esther moved to Mexico City in the year 2000. “That was one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” she says ruefully. Although she never found the right music teacher to suit her particular needs, Esther gained valuable experience as a soloist with the Mexican Navy Symphonic Band and Orchestra while touring Mexico for more than three years.

Realizing that her best interests might lie closer to home, Esther returned to Ensenada in 2003, began studies for a bachelor’s degree in music at the UABC Escuela de Artes, and arranged for private tutoring sessions once a week in San Diego with Mary MacKenzie, who remains her main vocal coach. She resumed studies at Pro Música and currently is one of its featured soloists, performing opera, oratorio (church music) and art songs at concerts in Ensenada, Tijuana and Mexicali. During the past two years, she also has performed as a soloist with the Cabrillo Chamber Orchestra of San Diego and the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, and was one of the winners of the 2005 Musical Merit Competition in San Diego. For many years she has been an invited musician at the Santo Tomás Street Fair, one of the most popular events of Ensenada’s annual Fiestas de la Vendimia (Grape Harvest Festival).

Last year while attending a music course in Saltillo, Coahilla, Esther met Yelena Kurdina, an assistant conductor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera Theater who has collaborated with many singers including Plácido Domingo, Renee Fleming, June Anderson and Mirella Freni. Yelena not only worked with Esther to develop her interpretive and presentation skills, but also encouraged her to apply for admittance to a unique one-month program for emerging opera singers at the New York Vocal Institute in Manhattan. When Esther received notice that she would be one of the twenty students selected for the 2006 summer program, she was thrilled and her teachers, family and friends were filled with pride. While attending the New York Vocal Institute, Ensenada’s enterprising soprano also was able to land an audition with the Opera Company of Brooklyn, scheduled for September 25. To prepare for her audition in The Big Apple, Esther will first travel to Los Angeles to receive additional training from Yelena Kurdina, who will be in town conducting an apprentice program with the Los Angeles Opera.

What does the future hold in store for Esther González? Although her September 25 date with destiny puts stars in her eyes, Esther’s feet are firmly planted on the ground. She plans to continue teaching private music lessons and soon hopes to add German to her repertoire of languages, which currently consists of Spanish, English, Italian and French. “By 2007, I plan to obtain my degree in music at the Escuela de Artes,” she says. “And then I expect to move to New York to fully develop my career as an opera singer.”

For more information about Esther González and upcoming performances, contact her by e-mail
 

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