Hank Heijink    Mon, 10 Jan 2000 16:22:34 +0100
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This 'who's who' was a great suggestion! So here's my bio:

My name is Hank Heijink, I live in the Netherlands, and I'm 27 years
old. I've been playing guitar ever since I was seven. Because it's
basically a solo instrument and I enjoy playing with other people so
much more than playing alone, I started playing the oboe in a
symphonic band when I was 14 or so.

After seven years of playing the oboe, I was convinced that wind
instruments just weren't my thing and I made a switch to percussion
and drums, because the band needed someone there. I still like to
play drums, but I'm afraid to ruin my ears playing them or my back
carrying them, so I quit playing drums altogether last year. Besides,
I never was really good at them, so the drumming world won't miss me
too much...incidentally, I've got a drum kit for sale. Anyone?

I studied computer science at the university of Nijmegen and in my
last year, I started to study classical guitar at the Tilburg
conservatory. Currently, I'm a third-year (of five) PhD student in
music cognition at Nijmegen university and I will complete my guitar
studies in may of this year.

I had frequently played Dowland pieces on guitar, but never seriously
thought about playing them on a lute. However, in january of last
year, when a singer asked me to accompany a couple of Dowland songs,
her teacher asked me if I had ever thought about playing the lute and
I started to take the idea of lute-playing seriously. In the summer,
I found out that Stephen Barber had a finished 10-course Renaissance
lute for sale and I jumped at it.

I've been taking lessons since september and I'm having a great time
playing: this is the real thing! So much to learn, so much to read,
so much to play... unfortunately, I can't play as much as I like,
because the job and the guitar demand most of the time that I have.
When my guitar studies will be finished, I'll have more time, and
when I complete my dissertation, I plan to start studying lute. I
haven't decided on the conservatory yet, but most likely I'll try to
go to Den Haag or Bremen. Hopefully I can get a part-time job with
lots of spare time to play. Right now, I'm ambitious enough to be
willing to try to become a professional lute-player. Time will tell!

Besides all this, I sing in the conservatory chamber choir: this year
we will be singing Bach's Johannes Passion, which will be very
exciting. Finally, I enjoy making long walks and reading English and
German literature.

Best wishes to all for this year!

Hank