Singing: it feels so natural to me that I can’t go through a day without it. So natural, that I only realised I had a special talent for it when I was 16. I realised that the voice is also a musical instrument – the instrument that allows me to express myself most completely. I listened to Ella Fitzgerald and admired her virtuosity, her almost nonchalant way of singing and especially her tremendous power of expression. Being able to sing so freely, that was what I wanted.
In 2011, I enrolled at the Conservatory of Amsterdam to study vocal jazz. For four years, I had all the time to discover in which ways I could develop my voice. Besides studying jazz, I also got the opportunity to study classical singing technique and to discover Brazilian music. Most special for me, however, were all the wonderful musicians I befriended during those years. To play with all those different people, and to experience how music allows you to connect on a deeper level. In this way, I met many of the people with whom I still work together a lot.
After graduating in 2015, I started working as an independent musician. I was used to performing a lot already, but now I suddenly had to make a living out of it. Over the past years, I learned a great deal about the business of being a musician, and I keep learning. Still, singing is the most fulfilling thing to do: writing and rehearsing new songs, and of course, performing them. I feel so grateful, when this particular intimacy arises between the musicians and the audience and when people are touched by my voice.
Helping other people to become better singers is something I really came to like over the past years as well. Thus I started giving singing lessons and became the conductor of two singing choirs – which, I discovered, is a lot of fun.