The five places that changed me: Genevieve Lacey

WAPENAMANDA​

I was born in a tiny village in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. My father was an oral historian, working alongside the Enga people, to learn about their culture and stories. I remember the stillness, the beauty of this place, and I think it was here that I began a life of listening, learning by example from Dad's work, which would take shape in another form in my own life. Growing up in a developing country shaped the way I experience the world – it taught me of the richness of other cultures, and of the great good fortune of my own life.

BALLARAT

I spent most of my childhood in this gracious goldfields town in Central Victoria, a place with a rich musical tradition, where I was fortunate to meet an extraordinary music teacher. The winters are cold, the gardens abundant, the architecture elegant, and the art gallery full of treasures. Quiet pursuits of reading and playing music felt perfectly in keeping with this environment.

BASEL

At the age of 22, I moved to Europe to follow my dream of becoming a musician. In Europe, the home of my instrument, the recorder, I felt I could steep myself in its traditions. It was an intense time. In Switzerland, I lived the student artist's romantic dream, rooming in an attic, studying at a hallowed institution, roaming the woods, reading poetry, walking along the Rhine and grappling with unanswerable questions about life and meaning.

ODENSE​

My next stop was Hans Christian Andersen's town in Denmark, to study with a Swedish maestro. There, I found myself more at home, adopted by a wonderful family of artists. It was in Denmark that I learnt my craft as a musician – long hours of practice, in a climate perfectly suited to contemplative, indoor pursuits. The ties from that time I still hold dear, so every year, both work and pleasure take me back to Scandinavia.

NTARIA