A YOUNG musician, who sees his autism as a gift, has released a book of compositions at the age of just 11.

Alex Hoekstra has been praised by the brass community for his first book, Lord Alex’s Musical Menagerie.

The Stockton Heath resident is a gifted composer and trumpet player, currently at grade 5 distinction, and he uses the title Lord Alex as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the one square foot of land he owns in Glencoe, Scotland.

Alex plays in the Splinters Band, a woodwind and brass ensemble set up by the Halton and Warrington Music Support Services, and the band even received an award from the then Mayor of Warrington, Cllr Faisal Rashid, after performing at Wembley Arena.

The book draws on Alex's experiences and own style and has already had rave reviews from the likes of Mark Wilkinson, principal cornet player with Foden’s Brass Band, Andrew Berryman, former principal trombonist of the Halle Orchestra and Edward Gregson, former principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.

Alex said: "I have been composing music since I was about eight, so had lots of tunes to pick from.

"It’s taken a lot of planning this book, and choosing the right tunes for it, and my dad Hans and Lucy Pankhurst, my teacher, have helped me to bring it all together into a book."

Alex was diagnosed with autism when he was three and although he struggles with communicating with children of a similar age the disability has given him a raft of musical gifts.

He added: "I am proud of my autism. I was diagnosed when I was just three and it has helped me understand that just because you’re different from most other people, it doesn’t make you less important or less likely to achieve your goals. I find music comes naturally to me, and am now teaching myself how to play piano.

"The thing I want musicians to take from it, is that you don’t have to be an adult to achieve great things. You can be any age – it just depends on how much work and effort you put into it."

The Musical Menagerie also contains teachers’ notes, quirky tunes and even quirkier illustrations as well as a hidden password within the book that can be used on Alex's website to view and download tunes, backing tracks and other extras.

After becoming an author, Alex now has his sights firmly set on making music his career.

He said: "I would like to be a famous composer or conductor, and would love to have my music played in the Royal Albert Hall.

"I have played at Wembley Arena with Splinters and that was amazing."

Visit lordalex.net