Most of my life revolved around sport - especially tennis as a solo competitor - so it's surprising that I’m now writing about music.

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Being a member of a choir is - and has been - a full experience, but it was never something I thought I would or could do.

I lost my connection to music back in primary school. The headmistress felt like a character from a film - very strict, with an immaculate appearance: her hair always in a tight bun, and a manner more fitting for a nurse or military officer. She only wanted children who could already play music, not beginners.

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I was so discouraged that I broke two recorders over my knee to show my parents I wouldn’t go anymore. It left a lasting trauma, as it did for many children. After that, my parents didn’t encourage me to try anything else - even though I later learned that my father had been an outstanding piano player as a child, something I only discovered after his death. My parents liked classical music, but music remained something I never really learned - though I always had an interest in it.

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I’ve always enjoyed hearing people play the piano. I remember friends - like Anna always practicing the piano - or Tobias, another tutor with a deep interest for biology and an intriguing taste in music such as Tom Waits. Tragically, Tobias took his own life shortly after completing his Abitur (the German school-leaving qualification). I had seen him just the day before, when I left my pencil case behind. I was 13.

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I want to mention Myra and Brinley Morris—my landlords, friends, and mentors for over 10 years at No. 2 Stratton Place. They loved playing the piano, and their children are professional musicians. They helped me enormously in starting Märraum, and Myra is the person my daughter was named after.

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My first album I bought was The Black Rider by Tom Waits. My second was OK Computer by Radiohead. I also remember how a new and revolutionary the Titus skateboard scene in the otherwise so conservative city of Münster had a profound impact on my musical taste and art. The Münster Monster Mastership where I saw Tony Hawks, but for me more impressive and cooler was Ray Barbee.

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Then in 2010, I was asked by friends in the band Wives of Farmers to introduce a concert for them at Miss Peapod’s in Penryn.
Kees, Jeff, Jamie, Matt, Scott and David were in the band. It was at a time I was depressed having just lost my job in Penryn and felt very insecure regarding my future in Cornwall. 

There was a huge crowd - and I did it. That moment gave me the belief and energy to start Märraum. After that, I became something like a manager for WOF and organised two concerts for them.

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But it didn’t stop there. Since then, I’ve been involved in the Bandstand in Kimberley Park, contributed to interior changes of the music venue The Cornish Bank, I was involved with the Skatepark groundwork and strategic planning, and I was part of the team that converted Kimberley Lodge into a café and radio station with a recording studio.