BORN: November 4, 1960

BIRTHPLACE: Braunschweig, Germany

INSTRUMENTS: Mainly violin and electric violin (a 4-string "AQUILA" by BRIDGE INSTRUMENTS) - but also some tenor banjo, drums, guitar, piano

JOBS PAST AND PRESENT: Actor and musician in Germany (1981-1984, 1989-1992; Frankfurt/Main) and in the UK (1984-1987; London, Oxford, Liverpool); trained to become a violin teacher (1992-1996); musician and violin teacher (from 1993; in and around Frankfurt/Main), member of several classical and non-classical ensembles such as the NICO DOSTAL DUO (palm court music) or the CLYDE BAILEY BAND (American folk rock band); moved to Salem near Lake Constance to work as drama teacher and housemaster at the renowned boarding school Schule Schloss Salem (1999); joined several classical orchestras in the Lake Constance area; founded "CASACORDA – Das Streicherhaus", a project for string players interested in string music beyond the classical European line-up (2002); joined BEYOND THE FIELDS (2004)

MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Classical music from when I was 6; jazz from when I was in my teens (first records by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington); then live musicians: jazz players in Frankfurt playing trad. jazz and allowing me to sit in with my tenor banjo – man, was I nervous!; jazz musicians in London who played the original Bix Beiderbecke arrangements and who called me to play banjo with them – never have I had such a difficult job! They nearly killed me but I was thrilled to bits and loved every minute of it; Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band – man, are they crazy!!; Clyde Bailey who encouraged me to play quite a lot of untypical stuff in his band and who was one of the most relaxed professional musicians I ever met; jazz violin players: Didier Lockwood, Stephane Grappelli, Gregor Hübner, Jörg Widmoser, Valentin Gregor, G-STRINGS, STRING THING, and my heroes: TURTLE ISLAND STRING QUARTET! They are simply the best!

FAVOURITE WRITER: Swiss author and playwright Urs Widmer

FAVOURITE BEYOND THE FIELDS SONGS: I Wonder If You're The One and Home – but that might change as I keep getting to know the songs better and better