| Name | : | Esther Katinka Hartkamp |
| Born | : | 3-6-1970 |
| Nationality | : | Dutch |
| National Finals | : | Nationaal Songfestival 2003 |
| ESC Entries | : | One more night |
| Website | : | Facebook/Esther |
Biography
When she was about 10 years old she sang in the children’s choir “De Lenteklokjes” in Alphen aan den Rijn. She was fourteen when she first started singing with the band “Release”. At the age of 18 Hart was admitted to the conservatory in Rotterdam. At the conservatory she followed a “light music” vocal training. She graduated cum laude in 1994 as a teaching and performing musician. During that time, Hart regularly performed in all sorts of venues and it was also during this time that she self-released a CD, “Love this Life” of “Fruit at the Bottom”.
Hart was also part of “D-Wys and the Voices of Soul” performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival and on Sesjun TV. In addition, Hart has done a lot of studio work, sang jingles and sang in choirs for various Disney films. She did about 120 live performances a year. Singing has always been very important in Hart’s life. She teaches at various music schools and now at the Fontys Rock Academy in Tilburg. She teaches singing there that are mainly focused on singing technique.
Esther Hart had an English hit success with ‘Ain’t no Lies’, which ended up at number eight on the dance charts. Then participation in the National Song Contest came on her path. She won with “One more night”, which was the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 and with which she came 13th and won the Artistic Award that was introduced a year earlier. Originally she was also going to participate in the British final for the festival, but when she made it to the Dutch final, she withdrew. Her debut album was called “Straight from the Hart”.
In January 2008, she stayed in jail for one night to gain publicity and money for charity. During that time she gave a concert with the Dutch broadcaster NCRV and the Exodus Foundation, which provides assistance for former prisoners to adapt to normal life. In addition, a poetry contest was held by the prisoners with the theme of “dare to believe in change”, with the winning poem to be read by Hart.
Since 2017, she is involved in the organization of J’aime la Vlie, a Eurovision-related festival at the Dutch island of Vlieland. She currently is a singing teacher at the ArtEZ Pop Academy in Enschede.
Entries
| Country | : | The Netherlands |
| Year | : | 2003 |
| Language | : | English |
| Artist | : | Esther Hart |
| Song | : | One more night |
| Lyrics | : | Tjeerd van Zanen Alan Michael |
| Composer(s) | : | Tjeerd van Zanen Alan Michael |
| Backings | : | Linda Bloemhard Roger Happel Vera van der Poel Dedre Twiss |
| Results | ||
| Points | : | 45 |
| Position | : | 13 |
| Running order | : | 14 |
