“Jess Gillam, saxophone, and Elliott Gaston-Ross, percussion
Jess, who lives in Ulverston, and Elliott, who lives in Lytham, are both studying at the Royal Northern College of Music. Elliott won the percussion category and was a concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musician 2014 competition, and Jess who was also a finalist was awarded the Walter Todds Bursary for showing exceptional promise.
Since then they have both won many awards and performed at prestigious venues, but are taking time out from their A level studies to perform for us together with David Jones, Head of Accompaniment at the RNCM.”

Jess performs the Malcolm Arnold Concerto with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor John Gibbons. Other artists in the series include Nicola Benedetti, Emma Johnson, Julian Bliss and Leonard Elschenbroich.

“A performance full of ‘joie de vivre’ with Gershwin’s ever popular Rhapsody in Blue and one of his great theatre overtures ‘Girl Crazy’.
We welcome back young Saxophonist Jess Gillam, whose exhilarating performance of the Glazunov saxophone concerto was a real highlight of last season.
A real rarity will be a performance of Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto Gastronomique for ‘Eater’, Waiter and Orchestra – a work written for the famous Hoffnung Festivals of the 1950s and which is a brilliant example of Malcolm’s tuneful wit and high spirits.”

 

 

Sunday 11th October 2015,

Worthing Assembly Hall,

Worthing,

www.worthingsymphony.co.uk

As part of the annual concert series that Jess promotes, John Harle (one of the world’s greatest saxophonists) will perform with Steve Lodder in Ulverston.

John Harle is an Ivor Novello Award-winning composer-performer and record producer. Recent record releases of John’s music include the critically acclaimed The Tyburn Tree and Art Music, both with singer Marc Almond of Soft Cell.

As a saxophonist, his playing has been the catalyst for an outpouring of new concertos for the saxophone by composers including Michael Nyman, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Sir John Tavener, Sally Beamish, Gavin Bryars, Mark Anthony Turnage, Michael Torke, Dominic Muldowney, Stanley Myers and Christopher Gunning.

John’s performance of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s saxophone concerto Panic at the Last Night of the BBC Proms in 1997 was cited by many critics as the most controversial premiere of a new musical work since Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in 1913. 

He was artistic advisor to Sir Paul McCartney for six years, and other collaborations have included John’s Terror and Magnificence album and tour with Elvis Costello. He has also been producer and musical director for Moondog, Herbie Hancock, Ute Lemper, Lesley Garrett, Kathryn Tickell, Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine, Stanley Myers and Elmer Bernstein.

He is the composer of two operas (Angel Magick and The Ballad of Jamie Allen), many concert works and over 100 film and television scores, including the theme to BBC1’s Silent Witness, and the epic score to Simon Schama’s History of Britain. John is the recipient of two Royal Television Society awards for ‘Best Soundtrack’, and has been awarded four BBC Proms commissions. His Ivor Novello award for ‘Best Soundtrack’ was for the score to the Blakeway/BBC2 production Lucian Freud – Painted Life, directed by Randall Wright.

He is director and producer at Sospiro Records, and future plans include a collaboration with bassist Avishai Cohen in 2016, several new projects with Marc Almond, and The Tyburn Tree, a new show with projection-mapping at Canary Wharf in 2016. This September John will be performing in the Discreet/Oblique project at the Barbican with David Coulter (Damon Albarn/Yoko Ono) and Leo Abrahams (Marianne Faithful/Brian Eno) in a reconstruction of Brian Eno’s Discreet Music.

Coronation Hall, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 7LT

www.corohall.co.uk

Jess is delighted to be performing the Malcolm Arnold Saxophone Concerto with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra in the Gala Concert of the Malcolm Arnold Festival.

“Our spectacular annual Gala Concert featuring the Worthing Symphony Orchestra, conducted Commonwealth overture, Saxophone Concerto played by BBC winner Jess Gillam and the Scottish Dances . We are also delighted to welcome back BBC Young musician of the year winner Martin James Bartlett to perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.”

www.malcolmarnoldfestival.com

Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton

 

Jess is one of the young musicians to be part of leading this workshop for National Youth Jazz Collective Creative Leadership Ensemble.

The National Youth Jazz Collective is proud to present:

FREE Jazz Workshop for Young Musicians

2 – 4pm on Sunday 26th July

Benslow Music Centre, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9RB

A fantastic FREE opportunity for all young musicians, aged 8-18 to work with NYJC’s inspiring team of award winning artists, led by Artistic Director Issie Barratt, key tutor Laura Jurd & the members of CLE – A fabulous group of gifted and talented young jazz musicians and composers from all over the UK.

The workshop will focus on small group improvisation and original composition, working in streamed groups of similar levels of ability – from beginner to advanced.

We encourage players of all instruments – even those not traditionally associated with jazz – so please, don’t be shy!

The workshop starts at 2pm and finishes at 4pm. This will be proceeded by an informal concert for family and friends in the main hall from 4.30 – 5.30pm. The concert will include the Creative Leadership Ensemble’s 40 minute set of original material before culminating in an informal sharing of pieces learnt in the workshops.

If you have any queries please contact NYJC’s project manager, Dee Byrne: dee@nyjc.co.uk

WILL TODD’S MASS IN BLUE at Ulverston International Music Festival

  • John Gibbons – conductor
  • Will Todd – piano
  • Bethany Halliday – vocals
  • Gareth Huw Davies – bass
  • Jim Fleeman – drums
  • Jess Gillam – saxophone

“The festival comes to an exciting climax with the Ulverston Festival Chorus singing in our first ever ‘crossover’ choral concert. Will Todd’s music is sung and loved all over the world. His anthem ‘The Call of Wisdom’ was featured in the Queen’s Jubilee Thanksgiving Service.  His flagship work is the jazz setting of Mass in Blue performed here in the second half.”

www.willtodd.com

 

Jess has been invited to perform at the Ulverston International Music Festival with pianist Anthony Hewitt and jazz guitarist Anthony Hewitt.

“Jess Gillam needs no introduction. We are very proud to present her for the first time at the Festival in a full evening recital of both classical and jazz pieces, from Ravel and Debussy to Barbara Thompson. Jess is destined for a great future; in fact, in the words of jazz legend Courtney Pine’s manager, “she is the future of our industry”

Coronation Hall, Ulverston, 01229 587140, Tickets: £16/£2 students