Esther Upham-Aluoch

Esther J. Upham was born in Chicago , and grew up in the countryside of Indiana .  She was awarded a full scholarship to the University of Tennessee , Knoxville where she completed both her Bachelor of Music in Piano Pedagogy, and her Master of Music in Piano Accompanying.  After completing her education, Esther Upham taught at Indiana University South Bend as an adjunct faculty member.  During this time, she also gave private lessons at The University of Notre Dame and accompanied for their opera program.  Throughout her career, she has maintained a private piano studio with students of all ages.  As a composer, the first piece that Ms. Upham premiered was a chamber piece entitled, "The Gospel According to St. John ."  Along with a small ensemble of 4 singers, cello, and flute, she performed this piece at Indiana University South Bend in 2004.  In 2010, Ms. Upham premiered her first full choir and orchestral piece in Jerusalem, Israel.  Performing with Ms. Upham was the Jerusalem A Cappella Singers, and the Israel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Elli Jaffe.  Widely attended by Jews and Christians in the land, this music has brought religions and people together in a common unity of love for the Bible.  In the same way that Handel felt he was inspired by God, Esther feels that the melodies of this oratorio came to her straight from heaven.