Esther Steenbergen won the first prize at a major international competition and was then overcome by doubts about life as a classical guitarist. She started her journey, sometimes desperately, other times with great pleasure, along many twisted and unusual paths. She studied musicology, art and culture management, produced radio programs and concert series and, for a while, even worked at an employment agency for stage artists. One day, seated behind a large desk in an office building she realized it was not what she had planned. She fled the building, picked up the guitar again and has traveled the world as a concert musician ever since. She feels equally at home playing classical, contemporary or Latin American music and is celebrated in her work as a soloist and accompanist to singers and instrumentalists, and she performs in a wide range of ensembles. Esther Steenbergen possess a few organizing skills as well. An example of this is the Meesters op de Gitaar series in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Esther plays an instrument made by her husband, the well-known luthier, Otto Vowinkel … [more...]
