What Makes Me Tik?
As an improviser at heart, I am driven by the energy of the moment and surrender fully to artistic expression, to reach beyond the ordinary and create a connection with a world beyond.
I treat each performance unrepeatable, charged with discovery and of uncompromising quality. My goal is to blur the lines between composition and improvisation—crafted pieces should feel fresh and immediate, while improvised music should carry depth and intention. This constant interplay is what fuels my artistry.
Equally at home in contemporary classical music and jazz I come with specific skills. This language also carries into cross-cultural collaborations, where authenticity is essential—both in the traditions I engage with and in remaining unmistakably myself. As a flute soloist, drawing on the techniques of contemporary music, using extended techniques, electronics, and improvisation to expand its possibilities, the flute gains new dimensions and depth, while shattering stereotypes about the instrument.
My music is often described as filmic and is presented in surprising settings or innovative concepts. In music I love to do not the obvious, to do it different.
Change-Maker
I am dedicated to fostering a more compassionate world. We do not exist in isolation; our meaning is found in connection, collaboration, and shared experience. Since the pandemic, my artistic activities have increasingly focused on social issues, bearing witness to and engaging with them.
Other roles—such as advising government institutions (Fonds Podiumkunsten), curating other festivals, teaching, and serving on the governing board of the musicians’ union BIMpro —also reflect my belief that being an artist means being engaged. Seeking to capitalise on the music-hungry fanbase that developed in the Utrecht area, I launched festivals and concert series, serving the community through the arts. Driven by values like freedom, human rights and the sanctity of life I transcend borders and use music as a powerful a tool to change.
