Prism, Vol. 1 Jess Gillam

• 1 Berriedale at Dawn 03:22
• 2 No. 15, Adagio sognando (Arr. Vennart for Saxophone & Ensemble) 02:00
• 3 saman (Arr. Lawson for Saxophone & Ensemble) 02:13
• 4 Winter Light (Version for Saxophone & Ensemble) 02:50
• 5 Reflections 03:54
• Total Runtime 14:19

Info for Prism, Vol. 1

A musical force of nature, Jess Gillam has been forging her own adventurous path since she shot to fame becoming the first saxophonist to reach the finals of BBC Young Musician and the youngest ever soloist to perform at the Last Night of the Proms. Passionate about inspiring and bringing joy to people through music, Jess invites audiences on journeys of musical discovery through her electrifying performances and eclectic programming.

Hailing from Ulverston in Cumbria, Jess Gillam is animating the music world with her outstanding talent and infectious personality. After performing at the Last Night of the Proms in 2018 and having her performance described as “the indisputable highlight” by BBC News, Jess continues to grow her international career as well as presenting on TV and Radio.

Jess is passionate about inspiring and bringing joy to people through music and has continued to do so throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. In May 2020 Jess appeared as a special guest at the Royal Albert Hall’s VE Day 75 Commemoration and in July she returned for a performance as part of the ‘Royal Albert Home’ series. While in lock-down Jess launched her Virtual Scratch Orchestra, inviting musicians of any standard to come together to play music virtually with her. The orchestra played music by David Bowie and The Beatles as well as a Christmas special of Leroy Anderson’s ‘Sleigh Ride’. Over 2,000 people from around 30 different countries took part across the two projects, aged 2–94, playing a huge range of instruments.

Jess is the first ever saxophonist to be signed to Decca Classics and recently released her second album, ‘TIME’, which shot to No.1 in the Official UK Classical Charts, as did her debut album ‘RISE’. Jess curated the album to mirror the arc of energy in a passing day and the constant orbit of our existence. She is the first ever saxophonist to be signed to Decca Classics and recently released her second album, ‘TIME’, which shot to No.1 in the Official UK Classical Charts, as did her debut album ‘RISE’. She has been the recipient of a Classic BRIT Award (in the Sound of Classical Poll), was the first ever saxophonist to reach the final of BBC Young Musician, and in 2019, performed live at the BAFTAs to millions of viewers at home.

After reaching no.1 in the classical charts with her latest album, TIME, Jess Gillam performs music from the album on tour for the first time in eight locations across England from 26 June – 25 August. She is joined by a small ensemble made up of an incredible group of musicians from a wide range of musical backgrounds but with roots in classical music. The Jess Gillam Ensemble includes Roberts Balanas & Michael Jones (violins); Eoin Schmidt-Martin (viola); Gabriella Swallow (cello); Sam Becker (bass); Elsa Bradley (percussion) and Leif Kaner-Lidstrom (piano).

As part of the live tour, the Ensemble will play some classic favourites as well as brand new works written especially for the ensemble including music by Will Gregory (Goldfrapp), Piazzolla, Meredith Monk, Kurt Weill, Bjork, Luke Howard, Joby Talbot + more. The tour begins with Proms at St Jude’s, Hampstead (26 June) and continues at Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden (3 July); Cheltenham Music Festival (8 July); Budleigh Music Festival, Devon (10 July); St Albans Festival (12 July); Petworth Festival (15 July); Ryedale Festival (22 July) and Snape Maltings (25 August). The tour promises an explosive concert designed to showcase the diversity, dynamism and versatility of the saxophone.

Jess Gillam, saxophone
Jess Gillam Ensemble

Jess Gillam
The 2017/18 season ended on a high for Jess Gillam who closed the 2018 BBC Proms in great style with three appearances in the world famous ​‘Last Night of the Proms’ – performing as part of Radio 2’s ​‘Proms in the Park’ before heading across to the Royal Albert Hall to join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis for Milhaud’s Scaramouche, and a duet with star baritone Gerald Finley. This was Jess’s fourth appearance at the Festival following two performances in 2017 and a cameo at the 2018 BBC Young Musician Prom celebrating 40 years of the competition, which brought her into the limelight back in 2016.

In June 2018 Jess made her international debut with the Gothenburg Symphony and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and her international appearances build rapidly this season including concerts with the Tampere Philharmonic, at l’Auditori Barcelona, a Swiss debut opening the season at the Argovia Philharmonic, and her US debut recital at the acclaimed Philip’s Collection series in Washington D.C. Jess was named one of WQXR’s ​‘19 for 19’ Artists to Watch, playing at the launch event in New York. She also appears extensively in recital throughout the UK and performs with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic (Ben Gernon), BBC Concert Orchestra (Bramwell Tovey), Royal Northern Sinfonia (Jessica Cottis) and Manchester Camerata.

Jess records exclusively for Decca Classics and will release her first album ​“RISE” on 26 April, which features a selection of her favourite pieces ranging from Marcello and Shostakovich to David Bowie and Kate Bush. Her first three singles were published throughout the season: Milhaud: Scaramouche Suite - 3. Brazileira; Iturralde: Pequeña Czarda and Nyman: The Diary of Anne Frank – If.

Jess programmes and presents shows on TV and radio — being the youngest BBC presenter ever, she will launch her own Radio 3 Show called ​‘This Classical Life’ in April 2019 and continues to host the BBC Young Musician podcast with Sam Becker and Zeynep Özsuca. In February 2019 she performed at the British Academy for Television Awards (BAFTA’s) at the Royal Albert Hall, wowing A-Listers and Royalty as well as millions of viewers. She also recently featured in a documentary celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the BBC Young Musician Competition. Throughout the 2018 Proms season Jess appeared in a weekly slot on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme alongside veteran broadcaster James Naughtie, and she has presented an episode of Saturday Classics on BBC Radio 3.

She was the recipient of a Classic Brit Award in the Sound of Classical Poll 2018 which promotes the best emerging artists and ones-to-watch in classical music. As well as being a Vandoren UK Artist, at just 13 she became the youngest ever endorsee for Yanagisawa Saxophones and she is also a patron for Awards for Young Musicians. Jess also promotes her own series of concerts, bringing international talent to her hometown of Ulverston.

Jess studies at the Royal Northern College of Music with an ABRSM Scholarship, and is mentored by John Harle. She is very grateful for the support she has received from the Young Classical Artists Trust.

This album contains no booklet.