Drawing

Starting at a young age I've always enjoyed drawing. In high-school I learned how to work with colored pencils, and that became my medium of choice. My favorite subjects for drawing are birds. When I was a kid my parents had a big coffee table book with beautiful photos and color illustrations of birds from all over the world. I fell in love with their vibrant colors and fascinating shapes, and I drew several ducks from that book when I was in high school. In college, I became an avid bird watcher, and I've continued to refine my technique. You can view some of my favorite recent drawings of birds here.

Writing

I come from a family of writers, and two of my grandmother's siblings are published authors (in Dutch). One of them discovered my writing talents when I was 8 years old, and published my adventure stories featuring my stuffed rabbit as the hero, in the children's section of Suriname's newspaper, De Ware Tijd. I never looked back, and at Eckerd College I studied poetry and writing on the side, while contributing to the student newspaper as well. My favorite genres for writing are science fiction and poetry. I've not had any of my fiction or poetry published since childhood, though in truth I've not tried very hard. These days it's easy to self publish, so you can enjoy (or not) my writing by visiting qyzwriting.us.

Music

My father was somewhat talented as a musician, and played the guitar and electric keyboard. But he was a difficult teacher and I became convinced as a child that I had no talent for making music, after he tried to teach me. I didn't get much beyond do-re-mi on the keyboard. 

Guitar

As a teenager I fell in love with the Spanish guitar, but fearing my father's teaching methods, ignored my desire to learn to play. At Eckerd College I had the incredible fortune of meeting John King, RIP (who later became famous for his inventive Ukulele technique), who taught me to play the guitar and enjoy Classical Music. One of my fondest memories of John was being present when he composed his magnum opus for guitar, named for his favorite Salvador Dali painting, The Dream of Cristopher Columbus, which was recorded by Susan McDonald in 1993. During our lunch breaks (he was my manager at the Eckerd College book store) he would play the latest version of his composition for me, and ask me what I thought. All I could say was: "it's amazing!".

In Cambridge I studied with Sergio Brandao who coaxed every last bit of guitar talent I had out of me and helped me reach a level of proficiency I did not previously believe I could attain, and with Olav Chris Henriksen, who helped deepen my appreciation for and skill in playing Renaissance music. Unfortunately my many many many hours of computer coding caught up with me in the form of repetitive strain injuries in my hands and arms that prevented me from continuing to grow as a guitarist. But I have no regrets and still occasionally produce a few notes on my classical guitar, which is always within arms reach.

Drums

My true musical talent however was as a drummer, and from a young age I would drive my family crazy by turning the kitchen sink into a steel pan orchestra when it was my turn to do the dishes. Again I eschewed formal training until adulthood. At MIT I befriended an amateur drummer who taught me the basics, and from there my drumming career took off. One of my non-technical highlights at MIT was seeing Max Roach perform a few years before he passed away.

In Cambridge I studied with Bertram Lehmann, who instilled some rigor into my technique, and also helped me explore my true passion, which is percussion. Later I took lessons and played in ensembles at the Vuk School of Groove in Cambridge, and Morningside Music in Arlington. Over the years, I've become somewhat proficient in Jazz swing, and learned my way around the Congas. These days I mostly practice the Djembe. Because I started late and practice too little, I'm not nearly as proficient a drummer as my talents would allow, but I derive great happiness from  making music and I'm eternally grateful to the many teachers who patiently shared their expertise and helped me improve.

Here's a fun video of me performing with my daughter's voice teacher, and young son in the foreground.