Starting a day at the office and ending it on a stage or with a live session at radio station 3FM: Hester has experienced it several times. ‘It remains special to finish my work at the office first and throw myself wholeheartedly into another world a few hours later,’ she explains. 'And vice versa, I like being able to focus on my job again after a busy weekend with my band. That variety gives me energy.'
‘Most beautiful instrument’
While Hester's focus in her communication work at Radboud University is mainly on the target group students, within her band she makes an important contribution with her violin. The love for that instrument arose at a young age. ‘Whenever my parents used to play music that featured the sound of a violin, it always struck a chord with me,’ she recalls. 'So when I was four, I decided that I thought the violin was the most beautiful instrument in the world. And now, many years later, I still stand with that decision.'
It was also around that time that Hester first took violin lessons, where she learned to play classical violin. Her talent landed her in an international youth orchestra, with many intensive rehearsal weeks and weekends. During her secondary school and university studies, she was in a talent scheme, which meant that her musical commitments were taken into account within education. ‘During that period, I seriously considered studying at the conservatory and making my musical passion my profession,’ she confesses. 'Yet I wondered aloud whether I would still enjoy music if I had to work on it professionally all day, with numerous additional stress factors. Such as whether I wanted to depend on music to make a living. Therefore, I eventually decided not to go to the conservatoire, but to study Cultural Studies at Radboud University. This because of the broad approach to art, culture and media, where my interests already lay at the time. A decision I still support: music is still a big part of my life.'
Album tour and festivals
During her studies, Hester did an internship at Amsterdam pop temple Paradiso, where she was introduced to the communications profession. Over time, she continued to develop herself musically, even after she started in her current job in the Marketing & Communications Department of Radboud University. In between, she was increasingly asked by the Dutch-language indie pop band 'De Toegift' to contribute to their songs with her violin, which gave her the opportunity to play more than classical violin. For two years now, she has been a full member of this band, with whom she released the album ‘Kleine auto, grote hot wheel’ in early 2025. Hester: ‘We make poetic Dutch-language pop music, with influences from jazz and folk. We worked on our album for about two years. Most of the writing and recording sessions were at weekends, occasionally during the week. I took leave for that at the time.'
She also recently took advantage of that leave opportunity during the album tour, which took her to various pop venues across the country in addition to live sessions at national radio stations. 'Most of the gigs were at the end of the working week. Friday is my regular day off. Occasionally, I also took the Thursday afternoon off to be on time at the gig venue in the evening. And after a busy weekend with my band, it is regularly nice to have the opportunity to take the Monday off. Then it's great to be able to switch off and recharge myself for work.'
With festival season approaching, Hester is eagerly looking forward to getting back on stage. 'What I like best about that is that you get direct feedback from the audience. After all, from the stage you can clearly see how people react to the music. Whether they dance, cry or sing along; it gives an incredible feeling that we, as a band, manage to do that together. That makes me proud.'
Have you been inspired by Hester and would you also like to use your leave for your personal purpose? Check your leave balance here.
Did you use your holiday leave for a hobby, a special trip or something else and would you like to tell about it? Send an e-mail to communicatie [at] ru.nl!
* Photo was taken by Rosa Meininger.
