Voice and piano lessons

Hi there! My name is Christina Obledo-Esser, and I have maintained an active voice and piano studio since 2014. I currently teach beginning to advanced voice and beginning piano in Jersey City, as well as online lessons to students all over the world. 

My goal is to create a positive, encouraging, and safe learning environment through experimentation, LOTS of inquiry, and play, so that students feel free to discover their most authentic sound and learning style. Oftentimes, a student’s epiphany moment is unexpectedly discovered through the aforementioned, which in turn, encourages them to own their discoveries and develop agency in their artistic development.

I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach and feel that it is our job as instructors to be active listeners and maintain flexibility in our approach. I have gained a plethora of knowledge from my students and often attribute a fair amount of my artistic and technical growth to working with them and discovering new ways to express complex concepts.

My vocal teaching method is a blend of many different schools of thought. A majority of my technical approach is influenced by vocal clinic work used for vocal rehabilitation (I developed vocal dysphonia from incorrect technique, leading me to study with teachers who trained with voice doctors), Manuel Garcia’s A Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing, and Coffin’s Overtones of Bel Canto. There are others, but I find my method tends to more dominantly align with these resources.

Aside from technique, I also incorporate acting into the technical approach. I have been a student at HB Studios (Herbert Berghof) studying under Michael Beckett since 2022, and I find that Uta Hagen’s acting method aligns very well with singing. This technique encourages an artist to invest in a character in a way that isn’t emotionally damaging or draining, which in turn, can allow for a sustainable repetition of shows that might contain emotionally heavy themes. Fun fact: the well-renowned acting master, Stanislavsky, taught opera singers at the Bolshoi Opera Studio in Russia!

Thank you for your interest, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Click HERE to contact me for more info on booking and rates

Student Achievenemts

Students have placed and progressed forward in competitions such as “The Voice,” “Britain’s Got Talent,” and the “Bermuda Festival Competition (first prize).” They have also been accepted to universities for vocal performance, songwriting, and music production. Notable schools students have been accepted to include Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music, Montclair University, Rutgers University, Elon University, Temple University, and SUNY Purchase College of Music, to name a few.

Testimonials

“Christina is an incredible voice teacher who specializes in working with students on support, breath, and releasing tensions in the face and vocal tract. In her teaching style, she is kind and patient. She works with the student to understand how they learn, thus allowing her to give individualized lessons depending on what the student needs. In my lessons with her, she greatly helped me with isolating my soft palate from the back of my tongue, releasing my tongue tension and working on vowel purity without tension, as well as efficient use of breath. I highly recommend Christina to students of all ages; she is an avid learner and teacher whose passion for music is contagious!”

-Naomi Merer, soprano (classical)

“Christina taught my daughter, Indigo (classical soprano), to find her true voice. Before, she imitated different voices all the time, but Christina helped her to sing in a healthy, unstrained way, and showed her her true sound. Over the years, Christina has adjusted the warm ups, song choices and exercises in accordance with Indigo's maturing voice. She supported Indigo in preparation for performances, encouraged her, taught her how to handle nerves, and guided her to make good choices in terms of songs that worked for her vocal range. Christina is very open to working with the student's passions - she doesn't force songs that the child doesn't like, but engages the child to be involved in the decision making. She has always treated Indigo with respect, even when she was very young, and when Indigo was wanting to try quite advanced songs, she would voice her suggestions without judgement and in a way that never discouraged. She is a builder upper. She is always bright and happy and encouraging. Christina is an incredible role model in her own pursuance of further knowledge and shares what she learns with her students. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She has been a stellar teacher, an inspiration, and the guiding light my daughter has followed for the last 4 years. Indigo could not have come this far, and protected her developing vocal chords, and indeed her fragile self esteem if it weren't for the loving guidance of Christina.”

-Sacha Blackburn (opera, pop, and musical theater)

“Christina is a truly wonderful voice teacher. She's not only knowledgeable and competent as a teacher, but she's very personable and warm, which inspires excitement for learning and honing your instrument. Her teaching style creates a relaxed, but useful experience. She's sensitive to working with the specificities of your voice and style/genre while also creating a healthy foundation of classical training. I highly recommend Christina for any singer!”

-Rowan Healy, mezzo-soprano (R&B/pop/jazz)

“Christina is an excellent instructor with her own beautiful voice. As an older adult who never took any lessons but who loves to sing, Christina helped guide me to improving my tone and support. She gave me great exercises and was always patient with my questions. Thanks to the great foundation she gave me, I am now a regular cantor at church! Thanks so much for your help Christina!”

~Cecilia Hall, mezzo-soprano (classical and contemporary)