Biography

I started playing drums when I was 12 years old. Before that I think I had gotten on my mom’s nerves a bit too much, too often, so she decided to sign me up to every extra curricular activity she could think of to see what would stick. After playing sick to get out of football practice a few too many times, I think she got the hint and signed me up for some violin lessons instead after I’d seen Alexander Rybak win the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, making the violin cool in my eyes.

After barely scraping through a very dodgy rendition of Jingle Bells for my elementary school’s Christmas talent show I realized that might not have been the best fit either, but for my 12th birthday I got Guitar Hero 5 together with a drum kit, and that finally stuck with me! I grew up with my parents’ records always playing at home – lots of Cat Stevens, Rush, and Neil Young so that music was much more my cup of tea. I started taking drum kit lessons shortly after, and two years after that I had my first experience playing orchestral music when I started filling in on cymbals for my town’s marching band!

I didn’t start to focus on classical music until I started studying music in secondary school when I was 16. I have so much gratitude for the whole music department at that school, they were all incredibly supportive and did an amazing job of opening up my ears to so much incredible music. My drum teacher introduced me to a lot of Cuban and Brazilian music, and heaps of amazing folk music from Finland, Bulgaria, and Morocco which still shapes me as a person and as a player.

Another one of my teachers had a massive part in getting me keen on classical music. I would go to his lessons with a few pairs of sticks and leave with two massive wheelie bags full of scores and books that I would spend the next few weeks geeking out over. I first listened to Berg’s Wozzeck this way after hulking the one-tonne score back home, and that was a massive eureka moment for me! I got a chance to be a part in the Royal Ballet & Opera production of Wozzeck a few years back and that’s still a very memorable moment for me. He was also the one that made me realize that pursuing classical music as a career is possible, and more importantly something I truly wanted to do. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to make the move to study in London without their support.

Since moving to London I’ve been very fortunate to work with a lot of different musicians and groups, performing as much as I can and in as many styles as possible. Playing percussion has such a great advantage since it’s an integral part to so much instrumental music around the world, and to me it’s super important to get involved with as much as you can. I’ve had some incredible musical experiences since moving here that I’m super thankful for, like performing with the Royal Opera & Ballet and BBC Symphony Orchestra, along with getting involved in musical theatre commercial music productions.

I absolutely adore the London music scene and think it’s without a doubt the best part of this city, and being a fellow at a place like Sinfonia Smith Square is a huge privilege