Profeti’s founder and musical director, Elam Rotem, is also the founder of earlymusicsources.com, an essential resource for early music manuscripts and scholarship.
Rotem was born in 1984 in Sdot Yam, Israel. During his studies at Kibbutz Kabri High School, he set up a vocal quintet with fellow scholars. This ensemble went on to become Profeti della Quinta which now performs regularly throughout Europe, North America, Israel and further abroad. Rotem studied for a Bachelor’s degree in harpsichord at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and studied for advanced degrees in basso continuo, improvisation and composition at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He went on to complete his PhD in 2016 through Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in a joint programme with the University of Würzburg, Germany. Rotem specializes in the musical style of the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, and his ensemble, Profeti Della Quinta, is known worldwide for their performances of the music of Jewish composer Salomone Rossi, who was the first composer to use the Western-Christian musical language to compose Hebrew prayers and psalms (The Songs of Solomon, 1623).