I play the oboe. I started at age 42. I hadn’t done any music before then, apart from the recorder for one year in year six. I’d always wanted to play musical instruments but, being the oldest of four children, and with a father who was an orthopaedic surgeon and away a lot of the time, I never got a chance to do that until my own children got to the point where I had some time to myself. It’s the most difficult instrument in the orchestra, so I figured if I could master that, I’d probably get a place in an orchestra — as opposed to the flute or clarinet, where you have to fight with about 800 people. And it proved to be right.

Dr Susan Allman
Sydney, NSW