Al van der Beek

Al van der Beek was born in Tokoroa, New Zealand to a Dutch father and a Samoan mother — Thus making him one of the first DutchSamoans in existence. His family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah when he was about six years old. His parents instilled a love and a passion for music in all of their children from a very young age, and despite his yearning desire to play the saxophone (because he thought it looked really cool), his parents eventually convinced him to play the violin.

Singing in four part harmony and playing musical instruments came naturally to him, his four sisters and two brothers. In their home they constantly sang and performed together and they each played instruments — Everything from the piano, to the flute, trumpet to the violin. As a result, he taught himself to play multiple instruments by ear — Guitar, drums & piano, just to name a few. Al continued to practice his violin and work on his vocal skills by actively participating in orchestra and concert choir throughout his intermediate school years.