About Esther Seung Lee
Esther can't remember the first time she started singing and playing the piano- That's how much music has been a presence in her life. She learned early on that singing and accompanying go hand in hand.
After a year with University of Northern Colorado where she sang with the vocal jazz group, 'Northern Colorado Voices' under the instruction of Dr. Dana Landry, Esther transferred to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA and received her Bachelors of Music(BM) in vocal performance. Peter Eldridge, a member of the widely recognized vocal jazz group, New York Voices, has taught her privately during her years at Berklee. She has also worked with Paula Cole, Cheryl Bentyne(The Manhattan Transfers), Allison Wedding, Mili Bermejo, Dominique Eade, and Maggie Scott.
During her years at Berklee College of Music, Esther co-founded first ever student run vocal jazz group "Point of Departure". She co-led the group consisting of 12 to 16 auditioned vocalists performing wide varieties of vocal jazz repertoire.
Since graduating, Esther has held benefit concerts, private workshops for vocal training and band leading, and has taught over 100+ private students ages ranging from 3 to adults.
Esther's parimary influences for jazz are artists like Chet Baker, Jamie Cullum, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Esperanza Spalding, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and many more. Her style of singing and playing broadens not only for jazz, but in variety of different genres. Some of her influences include Elliott Smith, Damien Rice, Lady Gaga Jason Mraz, Sarah Bareilles, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Regina Spektor.
Her ultimate goal is to share her knowledge and love for performing- that it's not just about sounding good- but it's about the journey of polishing your own originality and finding a limitless sense of joy through music.
