Astrid
Astrid was born in 1964 in Erlangen and raised in Portugal and Brazil. She came to the Hanover region in 1994 via Berlin, Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf. Always passionate about rhythm, Astrid discovered American tap dancing in the late 1980s and was a member of the “Non Verbal Communication” dance ensemble in Hanover from 1999 to 2003. Until the summer of 2007, she was also an active member of Drachenkinder e.V., an association for the representation of medieval life, where the foundations for the creation of “Duo Lautensang” were laid. At a medieval market, Astrid first noticed the bodhrán. Fascinated, she researched and found that it is an instrument used primarily in Irish music.
In November 2002, Astrid attended her first bodhrán workshop and was so overwhelmed by the weekend that the bodhrán and Irish music became the focus of her life. She refined her bodhrán playing by taking part in various workshops, including in Ireland, for example with Seamus O’Kane and Robbie Walsh.
In addition to the bodhrán, Astrid has been playing whistles for many years and her curiosity for new and unusual things led her to the Northumbrian Smallpipes, a small bagpipe suitable for indoor use that is played almost exclusively in Northumberland, Great Britain.
Astrid is an integral part of the “Hanover Irish Session” and, in addition to “Duo Lautensang”, plays with Reiner in the Irish folk bands “Northbound” and “Squish”.