I am a trad fiddle player, originally from The Netherlands.
My musical narrative starts at the age of seven, when I started playing the classical violin.
At fourteen I encountered folk music and since that time I have been involved in many bands and projects playing anything from Irish traditional music and baroque music to Dutch, Breton, Eastern European, Scandinavian and Javanese gamelan music.
In my nineteenth year I made the fatal mistake to spend a summer in Ireland, and another one the year after, and another the year after that, after which I didn’t leave. I had lost myself in the wealth of the musical culture of this country and became addicted to the people, the way of life, the craic!
Now, nearly eight years on, I have finished a Degree in music and a Masters in ethnomusicology at University College Cork, and I still find myself in the city of Cork, that I now call home. Irish music has become my staple diet, and I very much enjoy playing and teaching it. It was the reason I moved to Ireland, and the reason I stayed!
Bands I have played in include We-nun Henk (a Dutch folk band), Radostan (an Eastern European band), My Left Shoe (an Irish band based in Holland) and theater productions such as Corcadorca's "The Mercant of Venice" with music composed by Mel Mercier and Linda Buckley. Right now I am focusing my attention on one band: Lazik (www.myspace.com/lazikmuzik). Besides playing in bands, I am regularly seen and heard in sessions around Cork.
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The Living Tradition Farewell, Reeling in the last moments! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIclkw4gY18
More improvised intoxication from that magical night in March 08. The Living Tradition music shop big boss Tony O'Flaherty - Guitar
Brian Hanlon - Bodhran
Stella Rodrigues - Fiddle
The Living Tradition Farewell, 'Sympathique' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEeOZdywgRM
Ah, sweet wine, sweet farewell! A totally improvised session in honour of the last day of existence of Ireland's best traditional music shop in March 2008.
Catherine Drapier - Guitar/Vocals
Stella Rodrigues - Fiddle/Vocals
Christian Martin - Fiddle
