Dr. Esther S. Yoo is the Artistic Director and Founder of CantusSpiritus, a professional vocal ensemble based in Honolulu, Hawaii. A versatile conductor, Dr. Yoo has extensive experience directing choirs and orchestras at both the professional and amateur levels. She has held faculty appointments as Director of Choral Activities at Hawaii Pacific University, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Hollins University in Virginia. Additionally, she served as Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church in Honolulu and as Artistic Director of the Oahu Choral Society from 2008 to 2020.

Since 2006, Dr. Yoo has prepared choruses for performances with the Honolulu Symphony and the Hawaii Symphony for renowned conductors such as David Willcocks, Andreas Delfs, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Andrew Litton, and JoAnne Falletta. She has conducted numerous symphonic choral works, including J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, B minor Mass, John Rutter’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Brahms’ Requiem, and Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with the Hawaii Symphony. Furthermore, Dr. Yoo has collaborated and conducted works with the Hawai’i Youth Opera Chorus, UH Manoa, BYU Hawaii, Trinity Christian School, Punahou School, Hawai’i Education of the Arts Choirs, Hawai’i Youth Symphony, and Chamber Music Hawai’i. During her tenure with the Oahu Choral Society, she also commissioned and premiered numerous native choral and orchestral works.  

Esther S. Yoo elevates her conducting prowess through extensive professional choral singing experience, having performed under the guidance of esteemed conductors such as Robert Shaw, James Levine, James Conlon, and Helmuth Rilling. She was honored as a conducting fellow at both the Oregon Bach Festival and the Toronto Bach Festival, where she collaborated with Maestro Helmuth Rilling. Additionally, she participated in conducting masterclasses with renowned figures like Robert Shaw, Sir David Willcocks, Harry Christophers, Stephen Darlington, and Dale Warland.

Yoo has conducted esteemed high school, collegiate, and professional choirs across North America, including choirs at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, the University of Toronto, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Furthermore, she has conducted concerts with Canada’s premier professional chamber choir, The Elmer Iseler Singers.  

Esther, a native of Toronto, Canada, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. She earned both her undergraduate degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Conducting at the University of Toronto, where she studied with Raffi Armenien and Doreen Rao. Additionally, Esther is an accomplished pianist and accompanist, having graduated with an Artist Diploma in piano performance from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. She also studied extensively under Russian pianist Vera Gornostaeva at the Heinrich Neuhaus Pianist Academy. Esther has performed as a pianist in festivals and masterclasses in France, Austria, and Switzerland, and has given recitals in Germany, France, and Italy.

Esther is a member of Chorus America, the American Choral Director’s Association, the College Music Society,  International Conductors Guild, and the International Federation of Choral Musicians. In her spare time, she travels with her husband on medical missions around the globe. She also enjoys cooking, is an avid reader, and appreciates drinking coffee on her lanai. Prior to each concert, she walks on the beach to listen to the ocean’s roar and feel the sand between her toes.