My life: Kate Lawson

Photo: Jonathan Wong

BORED AT THE BALLET I was born in the year George Orwell named his famous novel after, but it appears to have been a normal one to me. Neither of my parents plays music but my mother came from a big family, and there was a lot of music there. She took notice of my interest in music when I was small. She got me a piano but I hated practising. What really got me interested in music was a ballet my mum took me to. It was Don Quixote and we sat in the front row. I was so bored that I started looking into the pit orchestra. The sound of the flute and probably its shiny look captured my attention. “I want to play that thing.” I pointed at it, not knowing that “that thing” was called a flute. I was about seven, growing up in a Sydney suburb. So the flute was my choice and I was never forced to practise it. Shortly after that my primary school started a school band and we had a fantastic teacher fresh from music school. The way he led the band in music-making is what really got me hooked. I was then in second grade and I enjoyed very much playing in an orchestra as a member more than a soloist.

A DIFFERENT TUNE Music did not occur to me as a career option until I chose industrial design in the required work-experience scheme for high school students in Australia. I always thought being a designer could be fun, but after two or three weeks at the design company my dad had helped to get me into, I realised the reality was not what I imagined, and (it) was not really me. It was after that that I began to think about music (as a career). But then I had to work against remarks like, “You are intelligent, you should study law,” or, “Be careful, a musician never gets a job or any money.” I am lucky my parents were supportive in my pursuit of things I like.