LEWIES VANDER THE CREATIVE INFLUENCER: Worshiper/MUSICIAN/SINGER/SONGWRITER/VIDEO EDITOR
Born and raised in South Africa, middle of 5 kids, I started playing piano at the age of 5. My older sister had lessons, and as soon as she moved away from the piano, I sat behind it and started playing the songs she was practicing. That started my journey into music and creativity.
Dad played guitar, piano and Mom the piano. They both sang - so did all our kids. Our home was always filled with music. Soon I learned to sing harmony, then drums entered the house. At 10 I picked up the guitar and developed a passion for bass at 11. My younger brother and I jammed together a lot and since our early teens played in church and at school camps.
In 2002 I had the amazing opportunity to move to the USA where I lived for 13 years. This journey centered around music ministry in churches in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Delaware. It was during this time that I was introduced to the world of video editing, and little by little my passion grew and skills developed. I even worked as a full time video editor for six months ata MyPro - a start-up video-education company.
I have a passion for leading people into God's presence through worship - musically as well as an authentic lifestyle of worship. Here's an example of me leading worship:
I wrote songs for churches, competitions, birthdays, retirements and much more. Here's a fun project I did with a song I wrote for a competition our local Chic-fil-A had:
PS. I won the competition - FREE FOOD!
In 2014 our family moved back to South Africa to be involved with missions through music.
The goal is to build relationships with kids...
...using music lessons as an engagement tool...
...Sharing hope...
...love...
...compassion...
...and raising up new leaders, thereby...
...influencing the next generation.
In 2016 we moved back to the US with a renewed vision and passion to take what we have learned in South Africa, and apply it wherever we have an opportunity to make an impact!
Life is a journey - and as a creative, I can't wait to see where it will take me next.
You can follow our journey at: