To think of my life without music – impossible!
Somehow, music has been there all the time and when it was gone, it didn’t take me long to say, “I want more!“
Originally I am from Bingen, a beautiful town in Germany next to the romantic Rhine river. I declared Amsterdam my home base in 2003 when I started my Jazz study at the Conservatory. Since my return to Bingen in January 2017 I keep on traveling back and forth between Germany and the Nether-lands.
My life as a musician is colorful, exciting and full of variety and change. Again and again, new doors seem to open to new parts of my mind that I didn’t know existed. Music lets me stumble and it keeps me on the move, making me doubt and look for new answers. Music makes me grow and it invites me to meet others and discover new parts of myself.
Below, you can find my musical path that summarizes and captures the important moments of my journey so far.
First steps
1981: born in Mainz
1990 – 1998: classical guitar lessons
since 1996: first band projects and big band experiences
since 1999: singing lessons
Takeoff and education
2002 – 2003: guest student at the Conservatory in Cologne, lessons and preparation for the entrance exam with Anne Hartkamp
2003 – 2009: study jazz vocals at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (Bachelor/Master) with Lydia van Dam, Eileen Fiss, Ge Titulaer, Ronald Douglas, Annett Andriesen and Edwin Rutten
2008: semester abroad at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry and Peter Eldridge
2007 – 2009: member of the ‘Bundesjugendjazzorchester’ Germany (BuJazzO)
2006 – 2013: several Estill Voice Training System (EVTS) workshops
since 2013: guitar lessons
2014 – 2015: yin yoga teacher training at Yoga Garden Amsterdam
Encounters
2005/2006: concerts with the orchestra of the Dutch Royal Airforce (cond.Arjan Tien)
BuJazzO: Bill Dobbins, Marco Lackner, Ramesh Shotam, Mike Herting, Ed Partyka, Efrat Alony, Dena DeRose
Workshops: Darmon Meader (New York Voices), Bobby McFerrin, Julia Hülsmann, Fay Claassen, Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy
Teaching
since 2006: private lessons in Amsterdam and Waldalgesheim/Bingen (Germany)
2008 – 2012: music school Amsterdam
since 2009: music school Tune Up Haarlem
since 2012: workshops (jazz, pop and songwriting) at diverse education centres in Germany (Bingen, Bad Kreuznach and Ingelheim)
Highlights
2007: graduation Conservatory of Amsterdam (Bachelor of Arts)
2007: own (jazz)musical project „The Fringe“
2009: graduation Conservatory of Amsterdam (Master of Arts)
2009: debut album „Inner Game“ (Neuklang/Challenge)
2013: EP „Turning The Tide“
2014: album with the Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra „Hits“ (Mons Records)
2007/2011: performances at the jazz festival „Bingen Swingt“ Germany
2009: finalist „Dutch Jazz Competition“
2011: performance at the opera ball in Frankfurt with the Fetzer Orchestra and Johnny Logan
2012/2013: concerts with „Kleingartenanlage“ on Johan Lafer’s house party
2014: chosen as ‚best duo – best voice’ with „Kleingartenanlage“ by SWR1
On the road
2002 – 2004: Germany tour with the rock opera „The Who’s Tommy“ (Miracle Musics): a.o. Tempodrom Berlin, Zirkus Krone Munich, Arena Oberhausen, Rosengarten Mannheim, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt
since 2012: Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia
since 2012: ‚solo’ with guitar
since 2012: own band with current line up
since 2013: living room and club concerts with „Kleingartenanlage“