Shira Patchornik
is an Israeli soprano. She is the first place winner of two major baroque competitions: Concours Corneille 2021 (Rouen, France, in association with Le poème harmonique- Vincent Dumestre) and of Cesti Copetition 2021, where she also won the audience award and several engagement prizes. Though Shira is very passionate about the baroque repertoire, she is not limited to singing only that. During the seasons 2018-20, she was a member of the ensemble of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Wiesbaden state theater) where she debuted the roles of Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Micaela (Carmen) and more. Some of the roles and theaters Shira guested in are Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf as Morgana (Alcina), as Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) in Theater Dessau, as Valencienne (Die Lustige Witwe) in Theater Heidelberg, and in the Bregenzer Festspiele, as Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) under the baton of Valentin Uryupin.

Born in 1993 she showed exceptional talent for singing and acting from a very young age. At 7 years old she joined Bal-Kol choir in Tel Aviv (where she later studied voice with choir conductor Anat Morahg) and already at the age of 9 acted and sang in plays all across the country, and dubbed movies and TV shows for kids. Her career as a soloist on the opera stage began at the age of 14 when she sang in The Israeli Opera the role of The Young Vixen in Janaceck’s The Cunning Little Vixen. Quickly after that, followed several roles suitable for a young singer such as The Shepherd Boy in Tosca, The Messenger in Elias, Bastienne in Bastien und Bastienne and others. At 17 came her first international recognition as she won the Best Soloist prize in Slovakia Cantat competition in Bratislava.

Her high education in opera was divided between Tel-Aviv where she studied with Prof. Sharon Rostorf-Zamir, and Leipzig where she studied with Prof. Jeanette Favaro-Reuter. She was awarded several prizes in international competitions, such as Otto Edelmann Voice Competition in Vienna in 2018 (Jürgen E. Schmidt Prize), BMSOM Voice Competition in Israel in 2016 (2. Prize), and Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in Rheinsberg in 2017 (prize receiver) where she also got to sing the role of Frasquita (Carmen) in the festival that summer as part of her prize. At 19 she sang Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in The Israeli Opera and later she appeared as a guest at the Kammeroper of Theater an der Wien as Contessa Bandiera in Salieri’s La scuola de’ gelosi. Other roles include Orasia in Telemann’s Orpheus and Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. Furthermore she sang in theatres as Oper Leipzig and Theater Nordhausen.

Shira's studies and progress have been supported by numerous foundations such as the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Meitar Foundation, Ronen Foundation and an excellence scholarship for her studies in the music academy in Tel-Aviv, awarded by the school itself for her achievements. Amongst noted conductors and professors she worked with are names like Konrad Junghänel, Jochen Rieder, David Stern, Patrick Lange, Edith Wiens, Tobias Truniger and many others. Her concert repertoire includes among many- Mozart Requiem and C Major Mass, Poulenc Gloria, many of Bach’s works as the Christmas Oratorio, B minor Mass, Johannespassion and countless cantatas performed all around Germany including in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Christkirche Rendsburg, Schlosskirche Bayreuth and Marktkirche Wiesbaden.

Maarten Engeltjes
(1984), has been singing as a boy soprano since the age of four. He collaborated as a soprano soloist on several CD recordings including Allegri's Miserere Mei in the Cathedral of Riga.

At the age of sixteen Maarten made his debut as a countertenor in Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Many concerts at home and abroad soon followed. Then in 2007 he graduated cum laude from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.

Meanwhile, Engeltjes has been a much sought-after countertenor for many years and works regularly with conductors such as Ton Koopman, Jonathan Cohen, Emmanuelle Haïm, Vladimir Jurowski, William Christie, Peter Dijkstra, Jordi Savall, Reinbert de Leeuw, Markus Stenz, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Laurence Cummings and others. This makes him a regular guest at the world's most prestigious orchestras and venues such as Lincoln Centre New York, Théatre des Champs Elysées Paris, Philharmonie Berlin, Metropolitan Theatre Tokyo, Sydney Festival, Palao de la Musica Barcelona, Barbican Hall London, Salle Bourgié Montréal, Tonhalle Zürich, Konzerthaus Vienna, Kölner Philharmonie and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Future engagements include: A 7-year Bach cycle with Les Arts Florissants conducted by Paul Agnew, Bach Cantatas in Prague and Leipzig with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra under Ton Koopman, Handel's Israel in Egypt with the NDR Choir conducted by Klaas Stok, Bach's Matthäus Passion under Eivind Gullberg Jensen and Handel's Messiah with the New York Philharmonic. Also planned are many projects with PRJCT Amsterdam in which he will be a soloist and conductor will be.

In 2017, Engeltjes founded his own baroque orchestra PRJCT Amsterdam on. With the ensemble he is taking a new direction in which, in addition to programming and the business side, he also takes charge of conducting. A combination that gives him great satisfaction. Meanwhile, he has recorded two solo albums with his ensemble for Sony Classical, both of which received high praise from the press. For the coming seasons the ensemble has concerts planned at home and abroad in prestigious venues and festivals such as the Muziekgebouw and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Bachfest Leipzig and Salle Gaveau Paris.

Engeltjes lives with his wife in Amsterdam and is a proud father of two sons.