My mother was a private Classical violin teacher and taught lessons in our home. There was never a moment where I wasn't listening to the music of her students or vinyl records of classical, ancient/medieval, world, and many other types of music on our old turntable.
I was presented with and started playing my first violin at age one and a half. It was a 1/32 size, which is the smallest practical size of violin available. I broke it within the day, ha, but that was to be expected. What was not expected was my taking to the instrument for real, and learning very fast. I mimicked my mother's students and learned the pieces that they played while still in diapers. We have a few precious videos of this, which I will have to bring out one day to share.
Though my childhood and teen years I practiced a lot - often 5 or 6 hours daily. This sounds excessive, but in the world of competitive classical violin, it is absolutely necessary. I went on to win several competitions, played solos in front of several orchestras, and gave many performances. Between practice sessions, I loved everything about being outside. The plants, the dirt, and the animals. Even though we lived in a small apartment in the city, I was still able to find small pockets of nature to explore and experience. Even though there are no forests near my home, and most of the fields have been developed, I still try to indulge my love of the natural world by growing pot herbs and keeping the local birds fed.
When I was 15, I started playing Celtic and medieval music with a small group called the Donnybrook Legacy/Sonus. I joined them when they were winding down from major label recording and were doing more laid back local performances. I learned so so much from these 4 amazing musicians. The music I was exposed to during the four years I worked with them created a love for celtic and ancient music that you can plainly see in my own music style today. From there, I started to pick up many new instruments to learn.
Around the same time I joined them, I began composing music, being very inspired by the beautiful soundtracks of rpg video games like Final Fantasy and Chrono Cross/Trigger. I wrote hundreds of little melodies during this time, with the chief intention of someday becoming a composer of video game scores. I also started writing lyrics, and with the support and urging of those around me, I began to sing. From: https://www.erutanmusic.com/drinks
