Whole families of musicians are not exactly rare. However, it is unusual to come across one that includes not only writers and performers of music, but also an instrument maker.
When South Wales schoolteachers John and Hetty Watkins needed to get their ten-year-old son, Paul, a cello (大提琴) to suit his blossoming talents, they hesitated over the costs involved. "We had a look at various dealers and it was obvious it was going to be very expensive, "John says. "So I wondered if I could actually make one. I discovered that the Welsh School of Instrument Making was not far from where I lived, and I went along for evening classes once a week for about three years. "
"After probably three or four goes with violins and violas, he had a crack at his first cello, "Paul, now 28, adds." It turned out really well. He made me another one a bit later, when he'd got the hang of it. And that's the one I used right up until a few months ago. "John has since retired as a teacher to work as a full-time craftsman, and makes up to a dozen violins a year--selling one to the respected American player Jaime Laredo was" the icing on the cake".
Both Paul and his younger brother, Huw, were encouraged to play music from an early age. The piano came first," As soon as I was big enough to climb up and bang the keys, and that's what I did, "Paul remembers. But it wasn't long before the cello beckoned(召唤). "My folks were really quite keen for me to take up the violin, because Dad, who played the viola, used to play chamber music with his mates and they needed another violin to make up a strong trio(三重奏). I learned it for about six weeks but didn't take to it. But I really took to the character who played the cello in Dad's group. I thought he was a very cool guy when I was six or seven. So he said he'd give me some lessons, and that really started it all off. Later, they suggested that my brother play the violin too, but he would have none of it. "
"My parents were both supportive and relaxed, "Huw says. "I don't think I would have responded very well to being pushed. And, rather than feeling threatened by Paul's success, I found that I had something to follow. "Now 22, he is beginning to make his own mark as a pianist and composer.
