Tilopa, a one time social scientist who did research on Latin America, has studied quite a wide range of different musical instruments since early childhood (recorder flutes, violin, guitar, piano, dillruba, svarmandal, santoor etc), but found his real love about 20 years ago when he met with the kyotaku and his flute master Koku Nishimura in Kumamoto/Japan.

Since that time he has studied the traditional 'honkyoku' music with his master and Koryo Nishimura, the son of Koku sensei. A never ending process although he is playing the same songs over and over again…

At the same time he has been experimenting with combining the kyotaku with other western and eastern instruments (see his cd's).

He lives with his wife in Berlin where he is working as a kyotaku maker , kyotaku teacher and as a T'ai Chi teacher. He is giving concerts in Germany and other European countries.