Q&A: Christopher Norton

CN: My mother's brother's family are fine jazz musicians in New Zealand, but the music gene bypassed my immediate family (apart from me!). Even so, my mother could tell I was musical at a very young age. I used to fill up empty milk bottles with different amounts of water to make my own musical instrument, and I was clearly interested in music played on the radio – one of my earliest memories is loving Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers. My father became a minister, so I played the piano at church – we didn't yet have a piano at home. My mother finally decided to rent a piano and took me to a local convent, asking if they could teach me. They said there were no vacancies, but after hearing me play, said: ‘We'll find a way to fit him in’. My parents always encouraged my efforts to explore music in my own way.