Sjoerd started his musical career on the tin whistle in 1996. After learning such tunes as ‘Old Mcdonald’s Farm’ and ‘Danny Boy’ he decided to take his chances and join a band.
He met a singer who told him ‘you can’t just play the whistle, you’ll have to play an additional instrument’. Sjoerd decided to follow that advice a year later. He bought a $100 banjo and started practising.

In 1999 he met singer Piet Karregat during a session in Almere with whom he formed the duo The Irish Wolfhounds (Peaking Through The Window, 2001). They became quite popular and went on playing untill 2002 when they decided to stop at the peak of fame.
He then played for a short period with The Mullingar Races
( Regrouped, 2004), after which he joined two new bands : Fanach (Is dit het nou?, 2002) and Caa A Dram (One More, 2004).
While playing with those groups and in various sessions he met Vincent, Douwe and Nienke. They got along very well both musically and as friends and the idea of Harmony Glen was born.
And, next to the busy schedule with Harmony Glen, he also plays with Nienke and Vincent in the 'No-Nonsense' Folkgroup JAIT.

Sjoerd now plays his banjo where and whenever he can. His skills on the banjo have been praised (and cursed) both by laymen and professional musicians. He sometimes likes to play a tune on tinwhistle or sing a song and accompany himself or others on the guitar which he also plays very well , but he is mainly widely known as ‘that friendly guy dressed in black, with the banjo and the smoking fingers’...

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