 In the late 1950s and early 1960s she spent considerable time in Paris, where she befriended many important composers and artists.Between 1955 and 1969 she regularly commissioned musical compositions, and then performed them in major recital halls, including The Town Hall and Carnegie Recital Hall.If Mrs. Esty's talent as a singer was not perhaps perfect (Ned Rorem referred to her as "a soprano of style and means if not especially of temperament..."), her importance as an arts patron is certainly notable.