Biography

Soetkin Elbers is a Brussels-born soprano whose work has a strong foundation in baroque music and historically informed performance, with particular expertise in baroque gesture. Her current solo project extends this background into live electronics, transforming the voice through real-time processing and improvisation.

Her solo project combines some of her favourite works from the baroque vocal repertoire with live vocal processing and sound synthesis. The result is a transformed, expanded voice that becomes both singer and instrument. The project moves between early music and alternative music contexts, and has been presented at venues including De Studio Antwerp, where she appeared alongside Bill Nace, and WORM Rotterdam, where she shared a bill with Detroit band Tyvek.

She also performs as BLOM+ELBERS with double bassist Jennifer Blom, combining early repertoire by Dowland, Lambert and Bach with improvisation, looping and live electronics in an atmospheric contemporary sound world.

Soetkin's wide-ranging repertoire encompasses opera, oratorio, cantata, lieder, contemporary music, musical theatre and jazz. She developed her expertise in baroque gesture through her work with renowned specialist Sigrid T'Hooft and later taught a baroque gesture course at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Her work in contemporary music includes collaborations with ICTUS and Ensemble Garage.

She appeared regularly at Theater Aachen, where she made her debut in 2012 as Le Feu, La Princesse and Le Rossignol in Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges. She subsequently performed roles including Dorinda in Handel's Orlando, Tebaldo in Verdi's Don Carlo, Jano in Janáček's Jenůfa, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof and Amour in Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice. Her work there also extended beyond opera, including the role of Girl in David Bowie's Lazarus.

Earlier highlights include her debut at the Opéra Royal de Liège, performances at the Musikverein Wien during the Wiener Festwochen, and appearances with ensembles including Bach Consort Wien and L'Orfeo Barockorchester. She has recorded with RedHerring, including La Muse et la Mise (en Concert), with a second album forthcoming, and currently appears as a guest soloist with Brussels-based ensemble La Penserosa. Alongside her performing career, she hosted the German-language radio programme Brüssel Zentral on ByteFM, dedicated to music from Belgium.

Her solo work now brings her long experience with baroque repertoire into a new sonic context, combining early music with live electronics and improvisation.