The first time I ever saw a heckelphone was when I was in a youth orchestra in Queensland, and we gave a performance of Richard Strauss’s Alpine Symphony. I was a weird child, so anything weird and wonderful was definitely up my alley, and I was immediately interested. I now have 14 different types of bassoon at home, so the heckelphone was a natural progression, I think!

Brock Imison with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’a heckelphone. Photo © Laura Pemberton

Pretty much no one starts on the bassoon. I played the violin when I was eight, but I quickly decided that was far too boring as everyone played it, so I moved to double bass and viola. When I got to high school, I picked up the bassoon because no one else wanted to play it, and it seemed like the perfect fit for me.

When you play a bass instrument, the lower you go, the more your body vibrates with it. I just love that feeling. I’m quite happy in the depths of music! I have been Principal Contrabassoon with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra...