After making her BBC Proms debut in two Proms last year (John Williams Prom and BBC Ten Pieces Prom), Jess Gillam has been invited to perform in two Proms this year! She will be the youngest ever female soloist in the prestigious Last Night and she will also perform in the BBC Young Musician Prom to celebrate 40 years of the competition.

In the Last Night, she will perform Scaramouche by Darius Milhaud with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton on Sir Andrew Davis.

For more info of both events please click on the links below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/emmxp6

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ewwrn3

From Jess: “I feel extremely honoured to have been asked to perform at such a prestigious event and I cannot wait for the concert! I felt there was such an incredible atmosphere at the Proms last year – the audience were so attentive, the atmosphere was electric so I can’t begin to imagine how the Last Night will feel! 

I found out about being asked to perform at the Last Night a few months ago and it has been very difficult to keep it quiet. I’ll also be performing at the BBC Young Musician Prom to celebrate 40 years of the competition and I’m really looking forward to being a part of that as the competition has been such a brilliant platform for me.

I will be performing Scaramouche by Darius Milhaud. It consists of three quite contrasting movements – the first being lively and bright, the second very beautiful and gentle whilst the third is fantastically energetic and very reminiscent of a carnival! I first began playing saxophone, aged 7, in the Barracudas carnival band and it will be fantastic to perform music of a similar spirit at a concert like this. The piece was written to be performed at the Théâtre Scaramouche, which is where the name originates from – Theatre Scaramouche specialized in plays and productions specifically for children. The piece is an absolute joy to play and I am very excited to perform it!”