... stretched the truth on your CV?
"Yes, but it was before I came to the university. I was apple and hop picking in England in the early 1980s, and I put it on my CV as agricultural consultation, knowing full well that it would have no impact on my music work."
... snuck in without paying?
"Often. At New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concerts — you go back stage to see somebody you know and say g'day, and then you just wander out and find a seat in the audience, cos it’s never going to be full."
... sold an unwanted Christmas gift?
"No, but I have passed them on. If someone gives you a coffee table book or a hideous piece of pottery, I’ve found ways to re-gift them. Mum, Dad, look here, I got you something for your anniversary!"
... skinny-dipped or streaked across a sports field?
"I went tramping with a group of friends in 1983 and I skinny-dipped in the Caples River. One of my friends took a photo of me as I was coming out. Luckily it was in the days before social media. The water was cold and it was hard to tell which were mosquito bites and which were appendages."
... stood someone up?
"Yes. When I was a university student, some guy tried to sell me insurance, but I conveniently forgot he was turning up and he sat in my parents’ house for about two hours, drinking coffee and waiting for me to show up. I had to wait outside for two hours for him to leave before I could go home.
"It reminds me of an old 1950s song — there’s no-one with endurance like the man who sells insurance."
... dropped the F-bomb in a lecture?
"No, but I have in a recording session when I was playing the clarinet many years ago. We were in the 4ZB studios in Albany St and I was halfway through a cadenza when I stuffed it up. I just went, ‘Oh for f... sake’. We had to do it all again and the ensemble was not pleased with me."
