Stéphane Bonneau

A little piece of cheese… Can you picture it?

If you were on your way to your cello lesson, would you remember to take a piece of cheese?

I hadn't thought of it either, but in fact that's just what I did.

Why? Because my teacher asked me to!

I know what you're thinking : it must be for some way-out contemporary composition! But in fact the cheese was for… my teacher's pet hedgehog!

I must have been about seven years old at the time, and that cello teacher of mine had a surprise for me at every lesson. The hedgehog, a dusty old fedora, a magic wand, little mice that he had sculpted out of bread, a turtle… And I had my pockets full of pebbles, drawings, my favorite specimens from my seashell collection… We always had a great time!

Today I'm the cello teacher. The piece of cheese, the magic wand and the shells… all that's behind me now. But I still try to share with my young students the pleasure and excitement that I enjoyed during my first years of musical studies. One way I hope to accomplish this is through my compositions, with their light-hearted approach and colorful graphics.

The other day my old cello teacher called me. He had just received a copy of my "10 Sonances" and here's what he told me:

"Well, I see that our little hedgehog has made a lot of progress over the years. Those little creatures really grow up fast… He's crossed a lot of roads, seen a lot of countryside and foraged for a lot of nourishment. But deep down he hasn't changed — and that's truly wonderful!"