Our origin story
Always on the look-out for the music in speech
Our aim is to shift good public speakers to great ones. Whether it is an elevator pitch, a team meeting, a keynote speech or any other form of public speaking, we don’t believe there is one recipe for everyone to follow in order to blow their audience away.
Great minds think, but don’t necessarily speak alike; in the same way a song is only as moving as the one performing it, a speech is intertwined with the speaker’s personal identity.
As professional artists with years of experience in the field of performing arts, we know exactly what it takes to be in the spotlight on stage to not only grab your audience’s full attention — but keep it. With an artistic perspective, we offer a different, eye-opening view on how to get your story across. We’ll shift your speech from being heard to being remembered.
We believe there are a lot of similarities between giving a concert and giving a speech: you want to make a lasting impression on your audience. There is the set of ground rules, skills and methods that lay the foundation; this goes for both artists and public speakers. We don’t only want you to discover those tools; we want to help you use them in a way that suits you best. This means we will go in depth to improve your individual, personal storytelling or writing skills as well as your performance and the impact of your voice.
Our courses and trainings focus on emphasizing your own unique qualities, in order to make your story resonate with your audience as if it were a song they can sing along to.
“My pitch has been shifted. I booked the ‘tiger in a spotlight’ class in English which unfortunately had some last minute cancellations which made it unviable to run, but Desiree offered me the chance of a 1:1 session instead; Great half-day and I effectively got a private class. Learned loads in a welcoming and caring atmosphere from a skilled, observant and friendly voice coach. Excellent, unusual fun.” — Martin Lambert
Who are The Pitchshifters?
We met in 2018 while both finishing a master’s degree in Music Technology: Composition & Performance on the HKU (Academy for the Arts) in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Soon we discovered a mutual fascination for the art of storytelling and performance, and a shared interest in challenging ourselves with wild ideas and new perspectives. Joining forces, we founded The Pitchshifters: a company that not only combines our passions and strengths, but also shares them with those who are eager to dive deeper.
Meet The Pitchshifters
DESIRÉE
Her passion for music, performing and the human voice started at an early age. As young as 15, Desirée released her full-length debut album, followed by a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Singing, Performance and Composition at the Utrecht School of the Arts. Beside her autonomous projects, she works as a backing vocalist with several solo artists, founded and runs the progressive singing school The Vocal Arts Academy (over 100 students and counting) and yet still finds time to be a driving force within the Pitchshifters team.
Intrigued by emotional expression through the voice or a performance, it is with the same untamable vivacity that during her coaching sessions she’ll dive into this interesting world with you to come back to the surface with new ideas, more knowledge of your own vocal abilities and grown self-confidence.
MERIT
Breathing the love for stories and music alike, a songwriting career wasn’t a surprising choice for Merit. After a Bachelor’s degree in Pop Music: Songwriting and a Music Technology: Composition and Performance Master’s degree, several Creative Writing courses and years of experience both as a music coach and an autonomous performer, she now manages to create a unique open-minded working environment when coaching individuals and groups. Being a curious and adventurous traveler that never leaves the house without a notebook and a pair of headphones, she developed a keen eye and ear for stories of any kind.
She loves kindling flames, changing perspectives and getting people to positively surprise themselves, and does so with a contagious energy and a warm talent for making anyone feel right at ease.
