Technology, Entertainment, Design. That is what TED stands for, and a TEDx event is not complete without musical performances. In this follow-up article, we look back at the experiences of three of our musicians from last year: Jonathan Baij, Raaven and Eric Vloeimans.
Jonathan Baij: From beatboxing to social media
Jonathan’s passion is beatboxing. During TEDxAmsterdam 2011, he told us how he made it from a family with little money for music to beatboxing champion of the Netherlands. Speaking via Skype, he describes that day of inspiration last November. “It was very exciting, also because this time, I had to speak in English. Normally I do my talks in Dutch.” Jonathan was impressed by all the volunteers who organised the event, and by the presence of many marketing and communications professionals in the audience.
Jonathan invites a couple of audience members on stage for a beatboxing workshop. Photo: Maurice Mikkers and Jan-Jaap Heijne
“I liked the fact that the audience is visibly enjoying your talk. As a speaker, it is great to hear the enthusiasm and feel the message arrive,” Jonathan adds. “It was the first time I told my personal story. I hope my story inspired people to carry out their ideas. If other people are dragging you down, that is no reason to stop realising your ideas.” During his talk, Jonathan also did a little beatboxing workshop with some members of the audience. Apparently, the first step a beatboxer takes is over-emphasizing the P, K and T sounds.
Jonathan got a lot of good feedback on his talk. “Even people I look up to liked my performance. I was mentioned on blogs like Wired and Frankwatching and seen as a promising speaker. That was a great experience.” TEDxAmsterdam also brought him some nice projects. He met up with Mike Koedinger from TEDxLuxembourgCity, who invited him to speak at the RTL Media Awards in Luxembourg that he was organising.
Currently, Jonathan is active as beat-boxer, public speaker and moderator, and is also embarking on new social media projects. “Some companies are struggling with social media,” says Jonathan. “For the generation Y, social media is all quite obvious. Yet, many companies out there do not really have a strategy to include social media in the marketing mix. I like to share my knowledge and inspire people. By providing context, you can make intangible things tangible and help people.”
Raaven: A honourable podium
Just like vocalist Claron McFadden, Raaf Hekkema is a recurring guest at TEDxAmsterdam. He joined us in 2010 as a member of the Calefax quintet. In 2011 he came back in a new setup: Raaven. They describe themselves as a ‘pop-style baroque ensemble,’ playing music from the 17th century on instruments from our time. Curious how baroque sounds on guitar, saxophone and hang drum? Take a look at their performance from last year.
Leadman Raaf Hekkema had a great day at TEDxAmsterdam 2011: “I experienced TEDxAmsterdam 2011 both as a honourable podium and an immersion of ideas, insights and new plans. It was a refreshing experience and I lived the day from early morning to late night.”
Eric Vloeimans’ own documentary
Trumpeter Eric Vloeimans certainly blew TEDxAmsterdam 2011 to another level with his solo. As one of Europe’s best trumpet players, TEDxAmsterdam was just one of the many stages he’s been performing on. He looks back at the experience very positively: “I had no idea how inspiring and full of fantasy a TEDx event would be! What a multitude of ideas, potential to do good, and such a high fun level. I felt very inspired by the positive atmosphere to ‘do my thing’. I am enriched by the feedback I got. People still talk to me about my solo performance at TEDx, and I have received many invitations for solos.”
Indeed, Eric has been very active the last year: traveling all over the world, performing a special programme with Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh for the European Cultural Foundation, performaning at the Erasmus Prize and releasing a new CD with the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra: “It miraculously keeps on going for me and my trumpet. I am enjoying every day”. And then we haven’t even mentioned the documentary made for Dutch television: ‘Het fluisteren van Eric Vloeimans.’
“TED was created to help each other on a big but indefinable scale,” Eric concludes. Thanks to inter-human and intercontinental communication of good ideas, we can take a different perspective and ultimately solve global problems. That is the great thing about the TEDx community.”
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