Ed Le Brocq

Ed Le Brocq
Born	1967 Dover, England
Occupation(s)	Musician, music educator, radio presenter, author
Years active	1990s–present
Known for	ABC Classic radio presenter; memoirs on gender transition; philanthropic work

Ed Le Brocq, previously known as Emma, Ed, or Eddie Ayres (born 1967), is a multifaceted professional encompassing roles as a musician, educator in music, radio host, and author. He is notably associated with the Australian ABC Classic radio network and is acknowledged for his philanthropic initiatives as well as his autobiographical works chronicling his journey of gender transition as a transgender man.

Early life and education

Born in Dover in 1967, Ayres spent his childhood in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. After his parents separated when he was two years old, his mother raised him and his three siblings in a modest home. He began learning the violin at age eight and switched to the viola by twelve, although the cello remained his foremost instrument of interest. His teenage years were marked by considerable personal difficulties.

Ayres completed his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and furthered his education at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin thanks to a DAAD scholarship; he also studied at the Royal Academy in London with backing from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and later attended the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne.

Career

Ayres spent twelve years as a professional viola player, including an eight-year tenure with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra after moving there in 1992. In 2001, he began hosting the classical music breakfast program on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK).

Relocating to Australia in February 2003, he settled in Melbourne and commuted to work by bicycle daily. Starting 4 February 2008, Ayres took over as presenter of the Classic Breakfast show on ABC Classic FM. During that year, he also taught at Melbourne Girls Grammar School and offered private cello instruction. In 2012, he featured on Big Ideas Talking, where he explored themes around musical composition and emotional engagement with music.

By 2014, Ayres was residing with a new partner in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Glebe. His memoir titled Cadence: Travels with music - a memoir was released in May that year. On 30 June 2014, he declared plans to leave Classic Breakfast by the end of the year, later disclosing that severe depression influenced this decision. That same year, he appeared on Musica Viva’s platform and ABC FM’s website noted his shift toward new projects following Ellen Fanning’s appointment as interim host.

In January 2015, Ayres delivered a presentation entitled The Viola: A big violin, a small cello, or just a joke? at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre. Later that year, he relocated to Kabul to teach violin, viola, and cello at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

In 2016, Ayres participated in an extensive interview on The Weekly during which he publicly identified as transgender. The next year saw his return to Australia where he settled in Brisbane and resumed teaching string instruments. In October 2017, he spoke about both his musical career and personal experiences at the Wheeler Centre and published Danger Music. From December 2017 until mid-January 2020, Ayres hosted a weekly hour-long arts program on Radio National, initially named The Art Hub before being renamed The Art Show, inspired by his brother Tim Ayres who is an artist.

In 2018, Ayres appeared at literary events including both Adelaide Writers' Week and the Sydney Writers' Festival. He returned to ABC Classic in 2019 to present the Weekend Breakfast program.

Additional Involvements

Ayres has participated in numerous philanthropic activities. In 2000, he undertook a year-long cycling journey from Shropshire to Hong Kong to raise charitable funds. Later, in 2011, he performed as a street musician in Hyde Park, Sydney to aid those affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.

In 2017, Ayres lent his voice to narrate "Not Quite the Night Before Christmas" during a live collaboration with The Idea of North and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which was subsequently released as the album A World of Christmas. He was a board member of Green Music Australia until his retirement in 2018 and has supported the Melbourne-based charity Hush Foundation, which employs the arts to enhance hospital care for children.

Personal Background and Family

Ayres has a brother named Tim Ayres, an artist residing in the Netherlands whose creations are part of collections at institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum and the New York Public Library. Additionally, he has two sisters, Liz and Penny.

He obtained Australian citizenship in 2010. A close companion, Carol "Charlie" Le Brocq, provided support during his gender transition in 2016; they married in February 2022, after which Ed adopted her surname.

The artist Jaq Grantford created a portrait of Ayres depicted as a centaur, symbolizing his embrace of his authentic self and drawing inspiration from Chiron of Greek mythology. This artwork, titled I Am a Centaur, was shortlisted for the 2024 Archibald Prize. Grantford’s piece reflects her advocacy for the transgender community, influenced by her own child's journey.

Gender Transition

In his 2014 memoir, Cadence: Travels with music – a memoir, Ayres explored themes of gender identity, recounting instances where he was mistaken for a man during bicycle travels through countries including Pakistan.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2016, Ayres publicly identified as a transgender man. He disclosed that his understanding of his gender identity emerged during a 2013 cycling trip in Pakistan while watching the film Boys Don't Cry. He remarked, "I've waited a long time to do this... now I feel I can't wait". His transition occurred shortly before his fiftieth birthday.

By 2018, Ayres expressed that despite lacking medical confirmation, he firmly believed himself to be male and felt that his body had not corresponded with his true identity. He described recognizing his transgender identity as "utterly devastating" and noted that previous relationships ended because partners were unable to accept his transition.

Names

Originally named Emma Ayres at birth, he adopted the name Eddie Ayres following his transition and later used Ed Ayres as the author name for his 2021 publication Whole Notes. His full given name, Eadric, pays homage to Eadric the Wild, a notable Shropshire figure who resisted the Norman Conquest.

After marrying in 2022, he took on the surname Le Brocq.

Danger Music

Published in 2017, Danger Music is an autobiographical narrative detailing Ayres's time at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music in Kabul beginning in early 2015 and culminating in his choice to transition to male gender. By early 2016, at age 49, he had undergone a double mastectomy. During his final months in Afghanistan following surgery, he began living openly as a man with a new appearance and lifestyle. The book concludes with Ayres’s first testosterone injection after returning to Australia.

The book was launched on 27 September 2017 at Brisbane’s Avid Reader bookstore located in West End. On 17 November that year, Ayres participated alongside author Robert Whyte at Avid Reader’s Summer Reading Guide launch for talks and discussions. Additionally, he contributed an excerpt titled "Moving to a war zone was better than living with what was in my head" to The Guardian in September 2017.

Sonam and the Silence

Published in 2018, Sonam and the Silence is a children's story inspired by Ayres's teaching tenure in Afghanistan. It narrates the journey of a young girl who uncovers the significance of music despite the Taliban's prohibition on it. The book features illustrations by Iranian-Australian artist Ronak Taher and was a contender for the 2019 Prime Minister's Literary Award.

Whole Notes

Released in 2021, Whole Notes serves as a sequel to Danger Music, delving into themes of music and personal identity. One reviewer described it as "...an extensive tribute to music, the viola (Ayres’ initial passion), and musical education." The narrative explores how Ayres harnessed music's transformative qualities to find the strength for personal transition. Whole Notes earned a shortlist position for the 2022 nonfiction Age Book of the Year Award.

External links

• Ed Le Brocq on ABC Classic website
• Australian World Orchestra Live on ABC Classic FM (26 August 2011):