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Eddie Ayres has a lifetime of musical experience, from learning the viola as a child in England and playing with the Hong Kong Philharmonic for many years, to learning the cello in his 30s and landing in Australia to present an extremely successful Australian morning radio show. But all of this time Eddie was Emma Ayres. In 2014 Emma was spiraling into a deep depression, driven by anguish about her gender. She quit the radio, traveled, and decided on a surprising path to salvation--teaching music in a war zone. Emma applied for a position at Dr. Sarmast's renowned Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, teaching cello to orphans and street kids. In
Danger Music, Eddie takes us through the bombs and chaos of Kabul, into the lives of the Afghan children who are transported by Bach, Abba, Beethoven, and their own exhilarating Afghan music. Alongside these epic experiences, Emma determines to take the final steps to secure her own peace; she becomes the man always there inside--Eddie.
About the author
Eddie Ayres learnt the viola as a child in England, studying in Berlin and London before playing the viola for eight years with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. As Emma Ayres, she moved from Hong Kong to Australia to present a long-running and extremely popular radio program on ABC Classic FM, while teaching music privately and professionally.
When Emma hung up her headphones at the end of 2014, there was a public outpouring of emotion. This tattooed, intelligent, warm and witty woman had made her way into the hearts of many Australians. What the devoted audience didn't see, however, was Emma's daily struggle to live within her woman's body. For sixteen years, she knew that she was transgender but to take any action seemed impossible. Emma believed there was too much to lose -- family, friends and her career.
In 2016, Emma accepted a position teaching cello, viola and double bass to Afghanistan's children at the world-renowned Afghanistan National Institute of Music. Amid the chaos and unpredictability of life in war-savaged Kabul, Emma realised she had to accept her future and returned to Australia to begin transitioning from female to male. In 2016, Emma became Eddie.
Danger Music, Eddie's second book will be published in September 2017. He is currently writing a children's book which will be published in 2018. Cadence: Travels with Music, published in 2014, was his first book.
Summary
From the former ABC Classic FM broadcaster comes a remarkable story about the power of music and courage to be one's self.
Foreword
From the former ABC Classic FM broadcaster comes a remarkable story about the power of music and courage to be one's self.
