Emma Ayres, presenter of Classic Breakfast, is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Berlin Hochschule der Kunste and London’s Royal Academy. She credits her desire to break down the barriers surrounding classical music to the period she spent studying with William Pleeth, Milan Skampa and members of the Amadeus Quartet.

Following her studies, Emma worked with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for many years as a violist. A seminal moment came when Emma was cycling from Shropshire in England to Hong Kong for charity. The nine-month solo trip allowed for a lot of thinking-time and led Emma to decide two things: learn the cello, and try her hand at radio. She arrived in Australia in 2003 and after the classic new immigrant job of dishwasher, began working for ABC Classic FM in 2004. Her work hours have gradually become earlier and earlier and she has been hosting Classic Breakfast since the beginning of 2008.

‘The alarm goes off at 5am every day. I cycle to work, try not to drink too much coffee and by the time the music starts, things are pretty chipper. How could they not be, being in a small room with Mozart, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Jordi Savall and the best musicians in the world?

‘I’ve learnt a lot about Australia and experienced an incredibly warm welcome here. Radio is such an intimate form of communication – you can be a friend for a lot of people and the power of music is hard to overstate. It can be cathartic to forget about the visual, and music allows us space.’

Emma teaches the cello to people of all ages; her oldest student is 72 and she firmly believes in our ability to learn an instrument at any age. It’s simply the challenges which change!

These days Emma still cycles most places, often with a cello or viola strapped to her back. ‘I've recently started learning the ukulele – it’s a fun sound, very versatile and cheap. Oh, and light!’

Emma presents Classic Breakfast, Monday to Friday, 6.05am - 9.00am

Listen to the latest program of Classic Breakfast

Thursday 8 January 2009