I was born in Mauritius, a tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean just east of Madagascar. I grew up in a modest family of self‑taught musicians. My mother sings, plays guitar and is a choir leader, and my aunty taught me my first piano lessons, stopping precisely at the point where her musical knowledge ran out.

Brian Kjim. Photo © Eddy Summers

My formal musical journey began in late primary school with the clarinet. My grandmother paid for my first year of lessons, while Dad took out a small loan to buy the cheapest clarinet known to humankind. At school, music education was mythical, like unicorns, or a well-funded arts program. Students and teachers alike constantly asked about the mysterious little black case I carried around. Once they found out I was learning an instrument, I was instantly promoted to resident music expert. Assemblies? I played or sang the national anthem. (Fun fact: I can still sing 18 national anthems. Completely useless . . . unless a UN meeting breaks out in the staff room.) Music Day? Somehow, I was conducting a group of reluctant classmates performing nursery rhymes...