Music
Making music has been a constant companion throughout my entire life and formed and transformed me.
Both my parents have a background in music, with my father being an organ builder by trade. This has influenced me, and I wanted to play the harp and the flute for the first few years of my life, until settling for the Cello when I was 8. I have had Cello lessons until I was 20 and have been in different orchestras ever since I started playing the Cello.
Since 2014 I am a member of the Collegium Musicum Bonn and have been a member of its steering committee for the past 3 years, overseeing finances and organizing international travels and exchange programs. Most recently, we have been to Italy and Poland. This semester we played Emilie Mayer’s fourth symphony and Anton Bruckner’s fourth symphony. Whenever I get the chance, I also join chamber music projects, most recently playing Mozart’s clarinet quintet KV 581 as part of the “4 Engel für Berend” group.
Since COVID, I poured my time into different musical ventures, such as learning to play the E♭-Tuba. I am a member of the Studentisches Blasorchester Bonn since its inception in 2023.
On the side I sometimes play the bass trombone, the french horn and the piano.
What I value the most in music is it being a universal language. No matter the background, language or (musical) experience, you can and should have fun playing music with different people.
Sports
Since about 2023 I am in the process of realizing my lifelong goal of completing an Iron Man distance (3.8km swimming, 180km bike, 42km running) triathlon. I participated in marathons and Olympic distance triathlons (1.5km swimming, 40km bike, 10km running) so far.
My finishing times are nothing to write home about (4:40h for a marathon, and 3:40h for an Olympic triathlon), I just love testing how far I can push my body before it is too late. I particularly enjoy the atmosphere during these events, and love sharing my joy for this sport and these types of events with others.
Art
Art is by far my least consistent hobby. During the darker winter days I appreciate sinking many a night into a painting, however. I usually use acrylic and oil based paints, but try to dabble in pencil drawings. If necessity arises, I also do digital work, like the logo of this website. It depicts a dragon inspired by the dragon on the coat of arms of the tiny municipality Wachtberg, in which I grew up. Its tail is in the shape of a cursive “C”, the first letter in my second name.
I tend to stay within the confines of realism but also enjoy more modern art movements such as cubism and surrealism.
Once a year my friend group, which calls itself “No Ducks Given” (c.f. the running shirt), creates a multimedia artwork as a birthday gift to one of us. Three years ago we created three animated short films, two years ago we created a large scale painting and last year we created a fun little (german) children’s book for a 29th birthday, which I have the pleasure of presenting in its a raw state:
Video Games
Last but not least, it is time to admit that I love video games.
I do enjoy playing games like Factorio, Ultimate Chicken Horse, Divinity: Original Sin 2 or Baldurs Gate 3 with the aforementioned “No Ducks Given” group.
When I am on my own, I enjoy grinding more frustrating games like Dark Souls 2 or 3 and Elden Ring, preferably without leveling. Alternatively, I torture myself by collecting all golden berries in Celeste. I am only missing the farewell golden berry… I must admit that collecting the farewell golden berry is highly unlikely, however.