I Think I Can Only

When I Was 12, I Happened To See A Schoolmate Playing Percussion, And It Looked Interesting. I Asked For Lessons, And It Felt Right.

I Walk Into A Kids' Store, And It's Amazing, The Types Of Instruments - Little Squeaky Things, Rattling Things, Spinning Tops.

I Love Out-of-the-way, Rugged Places. For Me, Holidays Are About The Experiences, And The People, And The Memories, Rather Than Sitting On A Nice Beach Getting Tanned. I Try To Plant Myself Where I Am And Embrace What Is There In Front Of Me.

A Large Part Of My Work Has Been Collaborating With Composers; I Think We've Commissioned About 140 Pieces Now, A Lot Of Them Percussion Concertos.

And As I Grew Older, I Then Auditioned For The Royal Academy Of Music In London, And They Said, Well, No, We Won't Accept You, Because We Haven't A Clue - You Know - Of The Future Of A So-called 'deaf' Musician. And I Just Couldn't Quite Accept That.