I first encountered the saxophone at about nine years old. I was playing guitar in the primary school music program and was picked with a few others to go to the high school once a week to learn a wind instrument. I’m pretty sure I was handed a saxophone, and it went from there.

I kept at it because I liked it. Simple as that. It wasn’t necessarily specifically about the saxophone. It was just that I found I loved music, and this was the instrument I’d crossed paths with. It was a really simple equation.

When I was 14, I joined the Hobart City Band – a community wind orchestra now called the Hobart Wind Symphony – and that just blew my mind. I still remember the first rehearsal. The repertoire included film music including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Dances with Wolves, John Williams’ 1984 Olympic Fanfare and Theme, and a medley of Eighties hits including Bad by Michael Jackson. It was interesting, fun music, with plenty of exciting hooks and satisfying orchestrations.

Philip Glass was in Hobart about 10 years ago...