Mendy Portnoy מנדי פורטנוי | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1992-04-16)April 16, 1992 (age 32) Manchester, England |
| Origin | Manchester, England |
| Genres | Jewish music,pop rock,folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Website | www |
Mendy Portnoy is an English-born Israeli singer, pianist, composer, and producer. He is best known as half of thefolk rock duo thePortnoy Brothers with his older brotherSruli. He has also released three albums as a solo artist.
Portnoy was born inManchester, England, the seventh of nine children. His father is a rabbi and formerorchestra conductor. He and six other siblings madealiyah to Israel as adults, however Portnoy and his brother Sruli have since moved to the USA where they currently reside (as of 2024).
Portnoy studied music from a young age and began playing together with Sruli around age 14. He originally tookguitar lessons, with Sruli taking piano, before the two switched.[1]
In 2010, he performed at the Complete Unity Concert atHeichal Shlomo alongsideAharit Hayamim,Shtar, andJudaBlue.[2] He and Sruli participated in the music video "Waving Flags", performed by campers and volunteer staff atCamp Simcha.[3]
Mendy Portnoy was featured on composerYossi Green's 2015 albumPianesque. That same year, he collaborated with singer and saxophonistDaniel Zamir onEsa Einai, an album ofShlomo Carlebach songs, and released a short online-only piano album entitledHoly Days.
He was the final keyboardist for theJewish rock bandHamakor, performing on their 2014 single "Lift Me Up".[4]
As of 2020, Portnoy moved toNew Jersey to work for Jewish grassroots movement and music companyThank You Hashem where he works as amusic producer[5] Portnoy became involved as a producer after Moshe Storch, a musician recording a song with TYH at that time, approached him to produce a song for TYH whilst Portnoy was visiting New York. His arrangement ofShomati/Take Us Home impressed the TYH executives, who had "been struggling to get th[at particular]niggun out there". They ultimately decided they wanted Portnoy to run their studio—even though they had yet to build one. He became an integral part of the production team, contributing to every track on the album and has continued in his role ever since.[6]
Mendy and Sruli Portnoy began collaborating as thePortnoy Brothers in 2012 with their debut single "Kol Ha'olam". They received further attention in 2014 with their single and music video "Learn to Love".[1] An album of the same name was released in 2016. This was then followed withNo Complaints in 2019. The albumThe Shabbat Project is expected to be released in the near future.
In addition to being an artist and a producer, Portnoy is also a professional editor and photographer and was Ezra Kress's rotator at camp simcha special from 2010-2011.[1]
