A versatile conductor, Dr. Esther S. 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 was appointed Chorus Conductor with the Honolulu Symphony by Andreas Delfs in 2008, and later as Artistic Director of the Oahu Choral Society.

Since 2006, Dr. Yoo has prepared choruses for performances with the Honolulu Symphony and the Hawaii Symphony for renowned conductors such as Sir David Willcocks, Andreas Delfs, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Andrew Litton, and JoAnn Falletta. She has conducted numerous symphonic choral works, among them, including Bach’s B minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Brahms’ Requiem, Verdi's Requiem with the Hawaii Symphony. Furthermore, Dr. Yoo has collaborated and conducted works with choirs around the islands, including Hawai’i Youth Opera Chorus, 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 choral works.  

Esther S. Yoo elevates her conducting 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 also selected as a conducting fellow at both the Oregon Bach Festival and the Toronto Bach Festival, where she worked closely 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.

Dr. Yoo has conducted 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.  

A native of Toronto, Canada, Esther holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral 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.

Additionally, Esther is an accomplished pianist and graduated with an Artist Diploma in Piano Performance from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. She also studied extensively under renowned pedagogue and 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.

In her spare time, she travels with her husband on medical missions around the globe. She also enjoys cooking, is an avid reader, and enjoys 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.