My parents are not musicians, but great music lovers. My Dad played clarinet and washboard in bands at university. I found his clarinet under a bed in the spare room when I was about 11, so out of curiosity, I had a go and discovered I could make a huge sound. Both my sisters are professional musicians (violin and viola) so, as the middle child, I think I went for the clarinet to be a bit different.

Nicola Boud. Photo © Eric Larrayadieu

I remember discovering Bach and feeling quite devastated that he hadn’t written for the clarinet (which was yet to be invented). I was almost tempted to learn bassoon or cello, but with a string of very good teachers and a growing fascination with the sound of the clarinet, I stuck with it . . . feeling I could use the instrument to express my musical voice very honestly and expressively. Despite being upset that I would never play Bach, discovering Mozart’s works for clarinet was a revelation.

In 1993, Dutch-based wind ensemble Nachtmusique (all members of Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century) toured Australia...