Hello

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, our parents decided that it would be good for my brother and me to learn to play a musical instrument. We both started with the violin, but I soon decided that bows and strings did not agree with me. I then started taking piano lessons. After a while, my brother also began piano lessons alongside his violin, which meant 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 the trumpet. My father, who was an accomplished trombone player, taught me the fundamentals. It soon became clear that I had some talent for the trumpet, and I began taking lessons from a professional teacher. He suggested switching to the cornet, as the length and weight of the trumpet made me bend down too much. After a few years of playing the cornet, I switched back to the 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 Conservatoire in The Hague for some years (though I never finished...).

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I also studied Law at Leiden University, and combining that with my studies at the Conservatoire meant that both were going nowhere. So, with some "advice" from my parents, I decided to join the military, specifically the Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Military Constabulary), on a five-year contract. After my initial training, I wanted to join the military band, but they did not have any positions available for tuba. They asked if I could also play the euphonium. Well, I never had, but I could try... so I auditioned on the euphonium and was accepted!

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When my contract ended, I had to leave the band. I got engaged, moved into a small apartment, got married, had kids... and playing an instrument was put aside. After our second child was born, we moved to a larger home. That was when I picked up the euphonium again and joined a community band. During that same period, my parents were cleaning out their house a bit and gave me some of the old brass instruments that were lying around. The look 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.

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A few years later, I got divorced and moved back into a small apartment, but the collection kept growing. Then Covid-19 shocked the world, and for a while, bands were not allowed to rehearse. 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 it. It was so much fun that I decided I wanted to keep playing the horn. When band rehearsals became possible again, I tried playing a circular alto, but soon decided I had to switch to the French horn. After a year, I left the wind band and joined a symphony orchestra. Today, I still thoroughly enjoy playing the French horn and admiring (and sometimes playing) the other, retired brass instruments in my collection.

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