Chart-topper Jess Gillam is to star at the Budleigh Music Festival.
After reaching number one in the classical charts with her latest album, TIME, Jess performs music from the album on tour for the first time in eight locations across England this summer – and she is in Budleigh on July 10.
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 and more. The tour includes the Cheltenham Music Festival (8 July); Budleigh Music Festival, (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.
In a UK first, Jess celebrates her ARIA-winning weekly BBC Radio 3 show and podcast, ‘This Classical Life’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra and special guests, live at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 7 July at 7.30pm. Guest performers will include composer, drummer and producer Ollie Howell who has written music for multi-award-winning films and TV series; soprano Soraya Mafi; singer Orlando Weeks former frontman of The Maccabees and songwriter, vocalist and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
Jess is passionate about inspiring and bringing joy to people through music and believes that good music is good music regardless of the genre or label. On her BBC Radio 3 show, audiences may hear The Prodigy next to Prokofiev, Hildegard von Bingen next to Bjork, Mendelssohn next to Michael Kiwanuka but there is one thing all of the sounds have in common: an ability to move us, transport us and connect us with alternative realities.
Jess said: “I cannot wait to connect with audiences once again this summer, and I feel very grateful to have these opportunities to share in the magical world of music.
“I released my second album, TIME, last year and it has felt quite odd not to be able to tour it or perform the music live so to have the chance to take the Jess Gillam Ensemble on the road for the first time is brilliant!
“Recording the album was one of the most gratifying and enjoyable musical experiences I have had and I’m excited now to see how that energy will translate into a live concert. Hailing from Ulverston in Cumbria, Jess 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. She 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.