English saxophonist Jess Gillam is delighting the music world with her outstanding talent and irresistible personality. She has been forging her adventurous path since she shot to fame as 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, Gillam invites audiences around the world on journeys of musical discovery through her electrifying performances and eclectic programming.
Jess Gillam’s Boston debut program will show off her range and versatility. Recent recital programs have spanned the Renaissance and Baroque, through the 20th century, to the present day. Selections from Georg Phillipp Telemann and John Dowland sit alongside François Poulenc, Kurt Weill, and Ástor Piazzolla. Gillam has featured works by contemporary composer-performers like Meredith Monk and Barbara Thompson, and up-to-the-minute selections from young English composers like Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Edmund Finnis.
American pianist and composer Thomas Weaver joins Gillam for this recital. Weaver’s playing has been praised for displaying “sensitivity” and “emotional dexterity.” He is a frequent performance partner and collaborator with saxophonists, having written two works for saxophone quartet and piano, Rift and Distant Recollections.
Meredith Monk | Early Morning Melody (transcr. Parkin for soprano saxophone)
Philip Glass | Melody for saxophone No 10
Francis Poulenc | Oboe Sonata (transcr. for soprano saxophone by John Harle)
Barbara Thompson | “The Unseen Way”
Benjamin Britten | Temporal Variations
Phil Woods | 1st mvmt from Sonata
Georg Philip Telemann | Sonata in F minor, TWV 41f1
Ayanna Witter Johnson | Lumina
Graham Fitkin | Gate
John Dowland | Flow, My Tears
John Harle | RANT!
“[Jess Gillam’s] performance…was a miracle of breath control, with tiny tendrils of sound peeling away from, and then back to, silence. ”
The Telegraph
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Jess Gillam - Iturralde: Pequeña Czarda - Pequeña Czarda (Arr. Harle)
Jess Gillam - Iturralde: Pequeña Czarda - Pequeña Czarda (Arr. Harle)
This performance is made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series' LIVE PERFORMANCE! Arts for All Innovation Funds.
Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor
with piano soloist Clayton Stephenson and the Berklee Contemporary Symphony
Race and Song: A Musical Conversation, featuring Boston City Singers
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