Alex talks to Channel 4 about his life and dealing with his illness, how things have changed since the first film transmitted, and what his hopes are for the future.
Channel 4: First off, Alex, how are you?
Alex: I'm pretty well. I'm quite tired, because I've come to the end of a long year, and I've just had a run of quite a lot of concerts, and been recording with the choir at King's. I'm just about to go home today, for a proper rest. I've stayed here for a month since term ended, and it's been quite tiring. I haven't really been home for a period of more than four days since Christmas, so I'm looking forward to going home for a good rest.
Channel 4: Going back to the original documentary, A Boy Called Alex, how did that come about?
Alex: The director of music at my old school, Ralph Allwood, sat next to Stephen Walker, the documentary maker, on a flight, and they started talking about filming, and I came up somehow. The rest is history. Stephen came to Eton and I played a piece on the organ. In was in my cricket whites - I was just about to play cricket, and had to dash off, but he seemed to think it was quite funny I was playing the organ in my cricket whites. So it just happened like that.
Channel 4: Why did you decide to take part in the film?
Alex: I had this idea that the publicity for Cystic Fibrosis would be really, really good. I didn't realise just how good! I'm really keen on promoting awareness of CF, and the film did a great job.
Channel 4: Indeed it did - it was a huge success. Were you surprised by how well it did?
Alex: Yeah. I didn't think that people could bear to watch me for an hour. I was surprised how many people responded to the CF element - I had so many letters and emails afterwards from people just saying how much they had enjoyed the film and how little they had known about CF. That was the kind of response I wanted. Since the film I constantly have people coming up to me in the street. I had a concert in The Albert Hall yesterday with the choir, and Prince Charles was there, and one of the policemen who was waiting by his car came up to me and said “My son's got CF, it was so great to see your programme.” It's really nice that the film was seen by so many people.
Channel 4: You talk about the reaction you got from people - that must have had quite an effect on your life.
Alex: Yeah. It was really strange at first, being recognised. But I got used to it in the end. I didn't know how to react at first, but as I became more convinced that all of them weren't crazy, I relaxed and got used to it.
Channel 4: Am I right in saying you got four marriage proposals?
Alex: Yeah. I got so many messages via the internet, via loads of social networking sites, and it was my housemaster at school who first noticed that. I didn't bother to verify it.
Channel 4: You weren't tempted to say yes to any of them?
Alex: Er... no!
Channel 4: There's a new film about you coming up this autumn. What's that all about?
Alex: In April I conducted the Bach St Matthew Passion at Cadogan Hall. It's a huge piece in comparison with the Bach Magnificat, which was what I conducted in the first film. The Passion is three hours long, and it's with two orchestras and two choirs - it's a huge piece to conduct. And apart from that, I've just finished my first year at Cambridge, so a lot of it's following that and how I deal with managing my health at King's, which has been quite a steep learning curve.
Channel 4: How have you enjoyed your first year at University?
Alex: I've enjoyed it loads. I was a chorister here as a young boy, and had really fond memories of that, and I've wanted to come back here ever since. My brother Paddy has just finished his degree this year, so it was really great having him here as well. He helped me out with my medication sometimes. But I've had a really great year just making friends and doing lots of fun stuff.
Channel 4: As you say, you've been managing your medication for the first time. Has that gone okay?
Alex: Yeah. I've had to manage all my physio, my tablets, my nebulisers and my food supplements around choir and my academic work. At the start it was very difficult, but it's pretty sorted now. I've got the part-time help of the college nurse, who has very kindly agreed to check on me every now and again and set up some of my tablets. And my brother's really great, he nags me a lot, which is really good. But lots of it I do myself. The best thing I've found this year is that choir's a natural form of physiotherapy, and I actually cough up more during choir than at any other time during the day. It gives the lungs such a complete work-out. My lung function actually improved quite dramatically at the start of the year because I was singing so much.
Channel 4: Music is obviously hugely important to you, and a massively important part of your life. Is your whole family musical?
Alex: Yes, very much so. Paddy was also in the choir here at King's, my other brother Christian was an organ scholar at Oxford and a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral. All three of us were music scholars at Eton. My sister was a music scholar at Benenden, and she's probably the most talented of all of us. She's incredible. So we're all really musical. But it was never forced on us, we all really enjoy it.
Channel 4: Your mum features quite a lot in both films. How is she coping with the fact that her youngest has now flown the nest?
Alex: Well, it's been okay, because I boarded at Eton and when I was a young chorister at King's, so it's been okay. She's found it hard to relinquish some of the control she's had over my medication. I think that's understandable, because she's always controlled my health, and it's quite hard for her now not to be there. I go to most of my hospital appointments now by myself, and I'm the one who has to make all the important decisions. She comes up here every two or three weeks and stocks up all my snacks and Twixes and crisps, and she likes to tidy my flat and all that. So she keeps a keen eye on me. I think she wants to get me home now, because she hasn't seen me for a while.
Channel 4: You mention your snacks. You have to eat a phenomenal amount of crisps and Twixes just to keep your weight up. Does that become a chore after a while, or do you quite like it?
Alex: No, not at all. I can eat 15 Twixes a day, I love them and I love crisps. It's never a chore knowing you can eat as much as you want, if you like the food. I generally only eat the food I really, really like. The college have been really good and given me a disability flat, so I've got my own kitchen and I can cook every day. I cook a lot of steak, which I love.
Channel 4: Are you a good cook?
Alex: Yeah, not bad. I've learned from the best - my mum - and she's taught me how to make sure I don't burn anything.
Channel 4: What was it like being followed by the cameras all over again? Did you enjoy it, or did it hamper your life a little bit?
Alex: I'm used to it. All of the crew are really cool, so it was fine actually. I didn't mind it at all. I think my friends wondered what the hell was going on sometimes, but that was it.
Channel 4: You mentioned that the film builds towards you conducting the St Matthew Passion. Why did you want to take on such a phenomenal task?
Alex: I've known the work since I was nine years old, and it's incredibly beautiful. It's got so many beautiful arias and beautiful choruses. It's the music - the music made that decision, and I was just very fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct it. I just love it.
Channel 4: Without giving too much away about the climax of the film, did you ever think you wouldn't pull it off?
Alex: No. I was absolutely determined. Even if I had to conduct it from a wheelchair, I was determined to do it. But obviously I wasn't in the best shape beforehand.
Channel 4: Do you like the idea of being an inspiration to other people, who may have trials of their own to overcome?
Alex: I don't know if I'd use the word ‘like', but I'm glad that so many people watched the first film. It's just strange, in a way, but I'm so glad that lots of people are getting more into music or learning more about CF.
Channel 4: It must be great for younger kids who have got CF to watch you and see how much they can go out and achieve themselves.
Alex: That's the nicest thing. Because when I'm in hospital I see so many people just worried about their health. So it's great that they can see some random plonker like me just get up and do something. It's really nice.
Channel 4: What ambitions do you have for the future?
Alex: I really want to conduct. But in the immediate future I want to form an orchestra in Cambridge. Not just to satisfy my need to conduct - I wouldn't necessarily conduct it - but just to direct some incredible music - mainly from the Baroque period, because that's a period I really love. That's my aim. But I don't want to do too many big things, because the St Matthew Passion, with all the rehearsals and preparation, really tired me out. I came to Cambridge to do a degree, and I'm loving the academic side of things, but the St Matthew Passion really did take quite a lot out of me. So not too many big things in the near future. I just want to get settled and nail this degree.
