Hello

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, our parents decided that is would be good for my brother and me to learn to play a musical instrument. We both started with violin, but I soon decided that bow and strings did not agree with me. Then I started taking piano lessons. After a while, my brother also started with piano lessons besides his violin and that meant that I was allowed to choose a second instrument. There was an old German-style trumpet lying around in a cupboard that had always interested me, so I chose trumpet. My father, who was an accomplished trombone player, taught me the basic fundamentals. It soon became clear that I had some talent for trumpet and I got lessons from a real teacher. He suggested to switch to cornet, as the length and weight of the trumpet made me bend down too much. After a few years playing the cornet, I switched back to trumpet. When I was about 15, the school Orchestra bought a Tuba and I immediately fell in love. This became my main instrument and I even studied at the Royal Dutch Conservatory of Music in The Hague for some years (but never finished...)

I also studied Law at Leiden University and combined with my study at the Conservatory, both were going nowhere. So with some 'advice' from my parents I decided to join the Military, the Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Dutch Military Police) on a 5-year contract. After the initial training I wanted to join the band, but they did not have any position for Tuba available. They asked me if I could also play Euphonium? Well, I never had but I could try...so I auditioned on Euphonium and got accepted! 

When my contract ended I had to leave the band. I got engaged, moved to a small appartment, got married, had kids...and my playing an instrument was put aside. After our second child was born, we moved to a larger home. Then I picked up the Euphonium again and joined a community band. During that same period, my parents were cleaning up their house a little bit and gave me some of the old brass instruments that were lying around. The looks of these vintage instruments had always intrigued me. I don't know exactly how it happened, but I saw an old cornet for sale on the internet and suddenly I had started a collection.

A few years later I got divorced and moved back to a small appartment. But the collection kept growing. Then Covid-19 shocked the world and for a while bands were not allowed to practice. I got bored and saw a cheap Mahillon Alto Horn for sale. I had always wanted an Alto Horn, so I bought it and started playing with it. It was so much fun that I decided I wanted to keep playing Horn. When band practice was possible again, I tried playing a circular Alto, but soon decided I had to switch to real French Horn. Now it has been a year and I still enjoy playing French Horn and looking at (and sometimes playing with) my other -retired- brass instruments.

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