HL: Tell me, when did your love of music begin?
AV: Both of my parents are great lovers of music so, growing up, music filled our home. When I was young, my father sang a lot (he had a wonderful voice) and my mother read poetry to me. By age three I had memorized all sorts of poems and songs and would perform them for anyone who asked.
When I was fifteen, my mother bought my father a guitar. He took little interest in it, so my mother tried to teach herself to play. My sister and I snickered at my mom, but it wasn't so funny that I didn't try it myself. I picked up the instruction book and guitar and it just happened. Despite an affinity for music, the piano lessons I took as a child never really interested me. I was into sports and playing with boys. That is, until I picked up my father's guitar. . . then I fell into music and never wanted to climb out.

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