When I was growing up, we had a record player in the living room, as most people did, I guess. There were records on all the time. My parents listened to classical music and folk mainly. They were huge fans of Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger and Don McLean. They also particularly liked piano concertos. 

My sister and I were taken to see a lot of ballet when we were young and we’d listen to the classical music used in the ballets. We’d dance to it constantly and put on shows. My father played classical guitar and I learned the flute, so most evenings we would play instruments or listen to music. There wasn’t a huge collection of records, so it did tend to be the same ones, over and over.

Heather Mitchell sits by a table in a. white flowing shirt, head supported by her hand.

Heather Mitchell. Photo © Julie Adam

I wanted to learn piano, but we couldn’t afford a piano and I was given a flute, so I thought, “Oh well, I’ll learn that.” I played a lot of Jethro Tull songs in my bedroom, but after a while...