In Conversation with Louisa Treger

'I learnt so much from music — nothing is ever wasted! '

How did you come to study at the Royal College of Music and what led you to the violin? 

When I was five, a school friend started having violin lessons. She used to parade her violin case proudly in the playground, and it made me jealous. Actually, I wanted the case more than I wanted the instrument! I begged my parents for lessons and, the moment I held a violin in my hands, it was love at first sight. I never looked back. At school, I studied with the wonderful Lila Collier, and she suggested that I apply to the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music. Senior college followed on naturally.

Since leaving the College, what have been some of your career highlights? 

I taught and freelanced, which I loved. Probably the highlight was being asked to be the soloist in a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto no. 4 with the Milton Keynes Chamber Orchestra.

How have your studies at the RCM helped you in your career?  

Music was fantastic training for being a writer, not least because it taught me the discipline to glue my butt to a chair and spend hours alone, honing my craft. Also, music training is about precision. It sharpens the perception of minute acoustic differences that distinguish sounds, and this heightens one’s attention to the nuances of language.

What led you to make the transition from performance to writing? 

When I was in my early twenties, I caught a virus, which turned into the debilitating condition ME. I didn’t have the strength to play the violin – I couldn’t lift it to my chin, much less perform. It was shattering, but something positive came out of it: the enforced rest gave me a chance to rethink my life. I woke up one morning and realised that I wanted to work with words, not music. Actually, I think the desire to write was always there, below the surface — for most of my life I’ve kept diaries and scribbled short stories.

What would you say the similarities between musical performance and writing are? 

There are so many similarities between music and writing, such as rhythm, tone, colour, and mood; alliteration, dialogue, and refrain. I could go on! Also, playing in concerts has made doing book talks and other public events easier, as it taught me how to control my nerves, and how to conduct myself onstage. 

What is your fondest memory of your time at the RCM?  

In my last year of Junior College, the orchestra toured the East Coast of the USA. It was the most incredible experience, visiting parts of the world I’d never seen before, and playing at venues like Alice Tully Hall. The orchestra improved and gelled as the tour went on, and the shared experience brought us incredibly close on a personal level. We were on a high the entire time! When we returned to London, I remember sitting on the steps of the RCM with my close friend, Katie Loram, both of us crying our eyes out because the tour was over.

What advice would you give to those who are thinking about making a career change? 

If your gut is telling you to do it – and providing there’s a realistic chance of making it work – go for it. You will probably find that the things you learnt during your previous training and career are useful in the new one. I learnt so much from music — nothing is ever wasted! 

What book has had the greatest impact on you and why? 

Fugitive Pieces by Ann Michaels, which is about the Holocaust and those who survived it. Some of my great aunts and uncles died in the Holocaust, so it’s a subject that touches me deeply. In Anne Michaels’ own words, the book is ‘an inquiry into faith — faith in the most general sense of the word; the question of whether it is possible to feel any sort of belief after the worst thing; and if so, what this faith might look like, what it might feel like.’ It’s a dark read, but with traces of hope: human beings are capable of unbearable cruelty and evil, but they are also redeemed through love and acts of extraordinary selflessness and courage.

I love the way Ann Michaels tells the story: indirectly, through images and fragments of memory — layers of meaning that resonate with and enforce each other, like the geological layers of rock that function as the book’s central metaphor. The language is dense, rich, poetic; I was blown away by it. The book opened my eyes to the possibilities of language, as well as to the different ways a story can be told.

What is your creative process when you’re in the midst of writing a book and how has Covid-19 affected this?  

My best writing time is first thing in the morning, as I am closest to my dream self then. I sit down to work and stay there till lunchtime. In the afternoon, I edit or read, and sometimes in the middle of the night, my characters wake me up and tell me things, which I jot down in a notebook I keep beside my bed. When this happens, I know the story is flowing.

My normal working day, pre-pandemic, consisted of sitting alone in my study, talking to imaginary friends. So my working life hasn’t changed at all during the pandemic, except that all the live events I was booked for were cancelled. I’ve done talks on Zoom, but I do miss that face-to-face interaction with readers. On the whole, though, I’ve been less impacted by the pandemic than most people. Also, my third novel is set in a mental institution, and I finished it during the first lockdown, when we were all feeling trapped and slightly unhinged. Writing conditions couldn’t have been more perfect!

Do you keep in touch with any of your RCM contemporaries?  

Yes, with a small band of close friends. We’ve been together since Junior College, and so the bonds are longstanding and deep.

We know you’ve written two wonderfully successful books already; can we ask about your plans for the future? 

Thank you! I just want to keep on writing novels. My third one is coming out in 2022 and I recently signed a contract with my publisher for a fourth.

What do you do to wind down and relax? 

I walk or swim. Also, I do creative stuff there’s no pressure to be good at, like baking and playing the piano. 

Exclusive offering

Louisa has generously offered to sign and send RCM graduates a copy of either or both of her books, The Dragon Lady and The Lodger, in recognition of a gift to the RCM. The suggested donation amount is ￡10 per copy. Should you wish to make a gift and receive one or both of Louisa’s books, please email Prudence DiStasio at [email protected] for further details.