Jess Gillam and Prokoviev

British saxophonist Jess Gillam has been praised uniformly by music lovers in recent years. “Whomever she's with … Gillam spreads joy,” said The Times. Gillam appeared at the prestigious Last Night of the Proms in 2018, and her CDs have sold in record numbers. On this programme she performs two works: Debussy's Rapsodie for Saxophone and a late Romantic concerto by Glazunov, the Russian composer perhaps best known as Shostakovich's composition teacher. 

Ryan Bancroft stole the show at the 2018 Malko Competition for Young Conductors, winning both First Prize and the Audience Prize. Bancroft is now Chief Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the critic from The Guardian recently characterised him as an “energetic yet graceful” conductor who gave “a performance of astonishing poignancy that was beautifully conducted and played.” 

Doreen Carwithen, a prolific British composer active in the mid-20th century, wrote a number of orchestral and chamber works, as well as some 30 film scores. Her work lay forgotten for a time but has recently begun to draw deserved attention. This concert begins with the powerful Bishop Rock overture, inspired by the remote skerry of the same name off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, known for being so small that there is space only for its lighthouse. 

A British saxophone virtuoso performs in Iceland for the first time.

Please note that instead of Rapsodie for orchestra and alto saxophone by Claude Debussy, Gilliam will perform Fantasia for saxophone by Heitor Villa-Lobos.