Rudi's Approach

helping engage, enhance, and enliven

Rudi's Story

Rudi has enjoyed making people feel good with his words and music since childhood. He's a naturalized American citizen who was conceived in Borneo, born in the Netherlands, and raised in rural South Texas, where his Indonesian-Dutch parents immigrated in search of the American Dream when he was five years old. As a result, he grew up with an optimistic, global perspective that informs all aspects of his personal and professional life.

Shy by nature, Rudi began singing solos in the church choir at age six, and soon discovered that being on stage gave him a safe space to express himself and overcome his shyness. He sang the lead role of Amahl in a community theater production of the one-act opera, "Amahl and the Night Visitors" when he was eleven, but was soon converted to rock 'n roll the night he saw the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 -- and he's been singing ever since.

After graduating from Trinity University with a degree in psychology, he developed two career paths: he continued to deepen his studies in psychology and spirituality and he sang folk/rock songs in coffeehouses, cafes, churches, and bars. Each path presented obstacles and portals. Graduate school failed to produce a satisfying way to pursue his questions and implement the clues. The troubadour’s life took him back and forth to Europe and across America numerous times, building a solid fan base, while performing in a wide variety of venues and recording eight albums of original music.

As he traveled, Rudi listened, read, and studied with a variety of teachers in psychology, spirituality, movement, meditation, and performance art. He developed a gift for integrating these divergent views and communicating them creatively.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, Rudi has performed countless concerts, festivals, churches, and schools throughout the country since 1974. In addition to being a prolific songwriter with ten albums/CDs of original songs, he's the author of Hurry Slowly, a book of creative non-fiction which has been successfully adapted to the theater.

In 1992, he and his wife, Zet, co-founded the Celebration Circle of San Antonio, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, interfaith organization with a creative approach to spirituality.

His teaching and learning continue, and every step in the journey reveals more clues, which he shares freely and joyfully at every opportunity.