AW:“In a way I never really made a choice because I started playing the French Horn at ten and Piano a little before that and had various opportunities to do it so I kept on going. So for me there was never any question about it, it was what I felt driven to do. The Piano is an excellent instrument to get a good grounding in things like harmony, reading two different clefs and the use of two hands. You should not start playing a brass instrument before about ten years old as the teeth would not yet be ready for the pressure of the instrument on the face.”
WT:How would you describe your musical style?
AW:“As a player, definitely from the Western Classical tradition. My experience is playing in orchestras and my training is having grown up in Europe in the western classical tradition but I’m trying consciously to incorporate other elements - especially Trinidadian traditional elements - into my music to create something that sounds a little bit different.”
WT:Who would you say was your greatest influence?
AW:“As a composer my biggest influence has been Stravinsky. I find his music to be very witty and he uses notes that are colorful in his harmonies, adding dissonance that makes the music sound fresh and alive. I find that very engaging, pulling me into the music. I also try to use influences not just from one composer but stylistic elements of folk cultures as well with the aim of communicating with different audiences.”
WT: What would you have done if not for music?
AW:“Well I was interested in acting for a while but I think I got a bit too nervous with that. [Laughs] I think it was pretty much always going to be music.”
WT:What was your first significant milestone performance?
AW:“Quite early on I got the opportunity to work with the Royal Opera House and that was a big deal for me. As soon you’ve done high-profile work like that and people find out they begin taking you seriously as someone who can deliver the goods.”
WT: Any major career highlights you wish to share?
AW:“Playing with Paul McCartney was a huge highlight. It was the Live Aid Concert in 2005 in London’s Hyde Park and Paul McCartney and U2 did the first number, which was Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band. They wanted four French Horn players to look like The Beatles, dressed up in Sgt. Pepper outfits.
I was one of the four of those players [Dressed as George] and my brother was one as well [Dressed as Paul] because he also plays French Horn.
A very recent highlight for me was the Panorama Semifinals in the Savannah this year. That was incredible. I played with All Stars. The atmosphere on the Drag was fantastic, I don’t think I’ve ever had the sort of adrenalin rush I got when we performed on stage! Playing Smooth’s brilliant arrangement and feeling the energy of the audience coming from North Stand was mind-blowing.”
WT: Would playing Pan be something you want to do again?
AW:“Yes! I’d love to. It’s been an amazing, inspiring experience playing tenor-bass pan with All Stars and I’ve met some great people and great players in band. It’s a big time commitment and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”
WT:Anyone else that you have worked with that you feel made an impact on your career?
AW:“I think the people here in Trinidad, the UTT Musicians ensemble, my colleagues, everyone has been so supportive and generous and that has been a really major thing for me especially for my writing as it has given me a sense of confidence that I can do this. My colleagues are great musicians so I feel very fortunate that they have supported me by playing my music and scheduling performances of it.”
WT:Which artiste/performer made your first major impression on you?
AW:“Well when I was very young, Andrew Lloyd Webber was all the rage and I can still remember listening to his musicals and getting really hooked.”
WT:What would be your advice to up-and-coming composers?
AW:“To experiment, push the boundaries and believe in accidents, meaning if you are composing something and you stumble upon something different, just go with the flow. See where that takes you. If you approach things with a pre-conceived idea of what it’s going to be like, the result may not be as exciting. Find something to write the music about so you would be communicating and expressing something, writing more than just notes on a page.”
WT: What type of music, do you like
listening to.
AW:“I like listening to traditional music of different countries, I’m interested in finding out how cultures express themselves musically.