The drawing room of her cosy house, where an upright piano stands like an old friend, already introduces the visitor to the passion in her life. For Rosalind Quevauvilliers, who graduated in her native England, there is not a day which is not Music Day.

“Where words fail, music speaks,” said Hans Christian Andersen. The shyness of some musicians is proverbial too. Like actors they can be almost frozen with terror before going on stage. And this can even happen just at the idea of an interview. At first sight, the simple distinction and charming reserve of Rosalind Quevauvilliers do not let prepare us for the passion which animates her as soon as it comes to music.

Naturally,for this English woman, born in West Sierra Leone, life also includes her family, especially her children, and other interests, like outings to enjoy the beauties of nature “that in Mauritius is within reach everywhere ”. This contrasted with her urban background when she discovered the island in 1996. This first contact must have been like a thunderbolt. For she also met at the same time the man who was to become her husband one year later.

However music was perhaps her first love. Her parents were also good amateur musicians and her grand mother a violinist of near professional standard. She had just gained a degree from Southampton University along with a teacher training course diploma from Cambridge when she came for holidays in our island. The tourist was a true Londoner, after all the years spent at St. Paul’s Girls School, a prestigious institution. It was at St. Paul’s School that she realized the importance of mastering an instrument. “Technique is essential. One cannot just limit oneself to theory or approximation”.

Her approach is professional, very objective. On listening to her, one realizes that music never leaves her life.

At the Morning Star School in Vacoas, where she now teaches, Rosalind believes in the value of encouragement. “There are no preconceived ideas”. A Zimbabwean proverb could perhaps sum up her approach. “If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing”. Whether the course is music or literature, she adapts herself to each pupil’s level.The child is closely followed, almost individually,but he also “learns to rely on himself.”

For her, “music represents a challenge” too for those who learn it. Rosalind, who was formerly a teacher at the Conservatoire Mitterrand and at the Clavis School, has witnessed the progress made in Mauritius in the field of musical education. If one considers that the Morning Star only opened less than two years ago, there is much to hope for there, even with their limited equipment. “Some gifted pupils are taking it seriously and I trust we will be able, with increased means, to form a little orchestra one of these days.” The sacred fire is already lit, now the musical adventure can go on…

<B>Jake NICHOLSON</B>