What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
Generally speaking, I thrive on musical challenges and seek them out, because that’s how I learn. These have included trying to establish the alto flute as a credible recital instrument, starting at a point where there was very little repertoire; learning the baroque flute from scratch to premiere a piece with lots of microtones, and developing an efficient way of practising so that I can learn a lot of difficult music in a short space of time.
Of course, the biggest challenge that has happened to me in my life was the arson attack on my home in the riots in 2011; I lost literally everything apart from the clothes I was wearing. Rebuilding my life after that was an enormous challenge, both personally and musically. It took 2 years before my alto flute was replaced, and it really made me look at everything in my life and work out my priorities. I had so much support from the music world in particular, and I can’t express just how important that was in helping me to keep going. It was a difficult time and it still affects me every day – but I’ve tried to find as much positivity in the experience and come back stronger.
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