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Students of Groningen: ‘very international for a small city’

Luuk Steemers Feature

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‘I have a German father and an Ecuadorian mother. I grew up in Germany, near Stuttgart, but at the age of fifteen I moved to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. In Quito I went to a school that is part of the Berkeley College of Music where I followed a vocal jazz programme. My examples are Ella Fitzgerald and Anita O’Day.

A study programme in the United States would be too expensive

‘I came to Groningen because I wanted to get to know the European jazz scene, and, okay, also because a study programme in the United States would be too expensive. The Prince Claus Conservatoire offers the New York Comes to Groningen programme with lots of guest musicians from New York. That’s a great opportunity for me to improve my skills. I’ll be here for a year. For the time being I’m staying in Assen with a cousin of mine who has a Dutch girlfriend. My first impression of Groningen is quite positive: it’s very international for a city this small.’