MBE at the BBC: How Saxophonist Jess Gillam Is Breaking Boundaries for Her Instrument by Leading With Kindness
Jess Gillam.
When British saxophonist Jess Gillam refers to her Carnegie Hall debut as "a real dream come true," she's being literal. Since the age of 12, she's dreamt of taking to New York City's fabled stage and sharing her passion for the saxophone with the audience.
Gillam's dream became reality in October, when she and pianist Thomas Weaver performed a wide-ranging program of music — from Telemann and John Dowland to Meredith Monk and Barbara Thompson — at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. For Gillam, it was important that her program not only reflected the capabilities of her instrument, but also allowed her to forge meaningful connections with the audience.
"It's important for me to play music that I really resonate with, music that really speaks to me so that I can tell the story well and share that story with the audience," Gillam says on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "That was my main aim last night — to create an atmosphere and a place for the audience to exist."
That insatiable drive to share her excitement about classical music has led to a bevy of remarkable opportunities and honors. At just 24 years old, Gillam remains the youngest presenter to host a BBC Radio 3 program — the wildly popular This Classical Life — and in 2018 she was a soloist at the Last Night of the Proms, perhaps the biggest and most prestigious event in British classical music. She was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her service to British music and was the first saxophonist to be signed to Decca Classics. And her debut album, Rise, hit the top spot on the UK Classical chart in 2019.
In this episode, Gillam and I talk more about her Carnegie debut and the projects she has lined up for 2023 — including the premiere of a new concerto written for her by Anna Clyne, which she'll perform with the Detroit Symphony. Plus, she shares how film, fashion, and nature fuel her creativity, her fanatical love of Nairn's oatcakes, and why there's nothing more important to her than "being as kind as possible."
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