I’m a flamenco guitarist, composer, researcher, and lecturer, based in Manchester (UK).

I was born in the Netherlands, and have lived and worked in Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom. My passion for flamenco started at an early age. Going through the old flamenco cassettes of my parents when I was 14, I quickly discovered that I wanted to dedicate all my energy to learning to play guitar.

I’ve also always been a keen reader and have been interested in languages, literature, and philosophy. I did my undergraduate degree, Research MA and PhD in Spanish and Literary Studies in the Netherlands, whilst spending all my free time playing and studying guitar, firstly with my dear friend and maestro Aloys Janssen in Nijmegen, and then with teachers in Córdoba, Granada, Madrid and Seville.

I am now a Lecturer in Spanish Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester, UK, where I teach and research modern Spanish culture, with a focus on cultural memory, flamenco and environmental studies. I regularly perform as a musician and have given talks about flamenco at universities across Europe and at music festivals, symposia, and other settings.

I released my first flamenco album, Moradas, on 1 March 2023. The album title is inspired by the particular colour, ‘feel’ and atmosphere of different flamenco styles or palos. Like the frame of a painting or the stanza of a poem, a palo gives a sense of structure and orientation to the sound of the guitar. After dwelling there for a while, a palo almost becomes like a home (in Spanish, a morada). This, for me, is the purpose of all music —it allows us to create and build something, and makes us feel safe and accompanied.