Sestina is a vocal ensemble based in Belfast made up of young singers who have been hand-picked at the beginning of their professional careers. It is Sestina’s aim to nurture and encourage their excellence through mentorship and collaboration with world-class professionals, and to present performances of the highest quality and energy. To date, the ensemble has performed all the major stage works of Henry Purcell (The Fairy Queen, King Arthur and Dido and Aeneas), and has collaborated with some of the finest specialist early music practitioners in the world: His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts, The Monteverdi String Band (in their 2015 production of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610), and the Dutch violinist Johannes Leertouwer. In December 2016, the ensemble collaborated with Hillsborough Castle for the first time in A Georgian Family Christmas, providing informed period music for an immersive event taking place within the Castle, a project which culminated in a highly successful ‘Come and Sing’ Messiah event. In April 2018, Sestina will collaborate with the Irish Barqoue Orchestra for the first time for a production of Handel’s neglected masterpiece Theodora.