Patricia Thorpe

I was born in Fish Hoek and it often seems to me that I was really lucky to have spent most of my childhood on that beautiful beach (no FMR reception there yet, sadly). After school I studied at UCT and Stellenbosch and worked in medical research – the sort of career path everybody (including myself) expected me to follow. I met my husband, Clive, in 1973 and we’ve been married since 1976.

Ever since I was four years old I’ve played musical instruments and sung, so while writing up my thesis for my third science degree in 1977 I decided to take a History of Music course, just for interest’s sake. This turned out to be so absorbing that I was blown away and changed career direction completely, setting out on yet another degree, this time in music. Music studies and practice had to be fitted in around the births and rearing of our four children (Michael, Katy, Julia & Gabriel) so this last degree was completed only many years later.

For eight years we lived in Jo’burg; our girls were born there in 1982 and 1985. Nowadays we live in Newlands, the children come and go between continents and Clive has retired, though he keeps out of mischief by teaching maths at UCT.

I am very happily involved in music education at Rustenburg Girls Junior School and also enjoy compiling and presenting classical music programmes on Fine Music Radio.

Patricia regularly presents evening programmes on FMR, including Composer of the Week (Mondays), Music Among Friends (Thursdays) and Great Interpreters (Fridays).