MICHELLE OESTERLE

Artistic and Executive Director of Manhattan Girls Chorus

Michelle Oesterle has been immersed in the world of music her entire life having been the stepdaughter of Metropolitan Opera star Eleanor Steber. Performing from the age of four, her early music education was in church music as a member of an 800-voice music program. This experience proved to be the foundation for her life-long passion for music.

Ms. Oesterle founded and directed The Ensemble, an adult chorus, for twelve years in Cleveland, Ohio. They commercially released two recordings and premiered several works. In Ohio and Michigan she was a public music educator for thousands of children. Subsequently, Ms. Oesterle directed The Festival of Voices adult choir and The Marble Collegiate Children’s Choir which, under her direction, was featured in the 2007 nationally-televised CBS Christmas Eve special.

Ms. Oesterle has performed under the baton of some of the world’s leading conductors, including Robert Shaw, Sir Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Franz Welser-Most, Valery Gergiev and Sir Andrew Davis and studied with Simon Carrington, Dr. Rene Clausen, Dr. Anton Armstrong, and Doreen Rao, where she was selected as a Master Conductor for a group of over 250 singers, conductors and composers from around the world. These experiences led to the founding of the Manhattan Girls Chorus, which provides a nurturing community for young women focused on personal growth, self-esteem, and performing excellence.