The Monthly talks to musician, Michelle Wooderson (Starlyng), about her book and album “A Little Herbal Hymnal” – Part 1 – Music was the only thing I was good at

Are there any early memories of being drawn to music?

I was immersed in the folk tradition from when I was a child. My mum loved musicians like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Carole King. My dad listened to classical music, so that was the type of music that was played at home. From that beginning, and all through school, music was the thing I was best at, and it was a big part of what made life meaningful to me.

I started learning the piano around the age of 7, and then, weirdly, I dreamt one night that I would become a flute player. (I don’t think I’d even seen or heard a flute before then). My mum and dad took this dream seriously enough to save up to buy me a flute. They turned up a few months later with one for me – it was third or fourth hand, and all the metal plating was peeling off it, but honestly, it was the most precious thing I owned and I was so proud of it. My piano was a really old honky-tonk too but I loved it. It was the seventies and no one had any money for fancy things. None of that mattered.

Did you get support at home?

Neither of my parents played an instrument. They both grew up in poor families, post-war. Things were tight and there would never have been any money for them to have had music lessons. I often wonder if they might have been good musicians given the chance to learn, but they were different times.

When I was growing up, we didn’t have much money, but my mum and dad went above and beyond to encourage me. I feel really fortunate and grateful that my parents sacrificed so much so I could have music lessons.

What about school?

I went to a pretty rough comprehensive school in a poor mining community in the Midlands. I was a quiet, creative, sensitive kid who stuck out like a sore thumb. I was bullied all through my secondary school years because I was a bit different. I think this is why I threw myself into music. It became a bit of a sanctuary for me.

There wasn’t much value placed on the arts at my school, and we didn’t have visiting peripatetics coming in to teach music, so I had my music lessons with a teacher outside of school – Brian Carter. He was a phenomenal flautist and I was so lucky we found such a wonderful teacher. He spotted my gift early on and really inspired and nurtured it. With his encouragement I eventually went on to play joint principal flute in Staffordshire Youth Orchestra.

You went on to do music at university?

Yes. I did a Bachelor of Music and within that I chose to specialise in performance. I would have liked to do composition but I was strongly discouraged at the time. For some reason, they didn’t encourage women to do composition. I’ve no idea why! It was the early nineties and I’m sure that wouldn’t happen now. I wanted to do my dissertation on Irish Folk Music and that was discouraged as well. These were the days before the internet so the argument was that there wasn’t enough source material to get access to. I still did a dissertation on folk music, just not Irish Folk Music. I also did a performance recital as part of the specialism I selected.

What happened once you graduated?

I moved to Northern Ireland in 1993, and started working as a youth worker in North Belfast. This was quite a culture shock! While I was doing that, music started to find its way into my work. I was based at a community centre in an interface area, and I discovered that music was a lovely way to connect with young people.

I bought my first little house in Beechmount, just off the Springfield Road. I think I might have been one of the few English women in that neighbourhood at that time, but I loved living there. Even though there was still a lot of trouble in the city in the early nineties, I had a great bunch of friends and it was a really happy time. I set up a little project while I was there, teaching some of the kids in the streets around me. I had instruments donated – guitars and keyboards mainly – so any child that wanted to learn, could access music lessons and get an instrument of their own to play. I also organised little concerts for them up at Whiterock Leisure Centre, where their families and friends could come and hear them play.

You also did lots of other things?

All through the 1990’s I taught music part time with the Education and Library Board, and was a peripatetic woodwind tutor with Belfast School of Music. I was also touring as musician around this time with Irish Gospel singer songwriter, Robin Mark, who was really well known in the United States and Canada. I got to travel all over the world with him between 1995-2010. It was a lot of fun and through it I gained lots of experience playing on TV and radio, studio session work, performing in theatres, stadiums, churches, festivals, and I also got to play with other international artists in Nashville, as well as Belfast artists such as Duke Special and Brian Houston. I even had one of my own songs featured on a number one album in the US gospel charts.

When I wasn’t touring, my day job was music therapy. I did a postgraduate training at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2000-2001, and this led me to specialise in using music therapy in areas of mental health, palliative care and bereavement. As well as being immensely meaningful work it provided me with a stable income and the flexibility to travel and tour when I needed to.

Running alongside my love of music, has always been this fascination with plants and love of the natural world. Over the past few decades this curiosity has led me down many rabbit holes and I went on to qualify in aromatherapy, forest school facilitation, therapeutic horticulture and community herbalism. I was just really interested in healing and nature.

So, my two key interests were music and plants and I have followed those interests over many years.