Get to know Jess Gillam
The first time you worked with the Philharmonia Orchestra, you weren’t playing saxophone, but presenting a streamed performance during lockdown. What was your first impression of the orchestra?
That Philharmonia sound! It’s golden. The musicianship of the orchestra is obviously extraordinary but everybody – the orchestra, the tech team, the planning team and everybody involved – is also very lovely so I am very excited for this performance.
Our audiences may not have heard Glazunov’s music before, let alone a saxophone concerto. What can audiences expect? Is there a particularly interesting or exciting part to look out for?
Glazunov treats the saxophone almost like a violin in this piece. He writes long, luscious lines that sometimes float on top of honeyed, rich string writing and that sometimes poke out and contrast with the strings. The closing section of the piece is so full of life and energy and it dances along with an almost ecstatic energy.
Have you worked with Santtu-Matias Rouvali before?
Santtu Matias Rouvail is such an incredible and perceptive musician and I am very much looking forward to playing the Glazunov concerto with him. I played with him once before in Finland and once in Gothenburg and I learnt a lot from both performances.
The saxophone’s classical repertoire is limited. Is this a challenge when looking for music to play, or an opportunity?
It’s definitely an opportunity! I love commissioning new pieces and working with composers and also reimagining pieces originally for other instruments. Often, an audience can be hearing a piece I am playing for the very first time and that’s a real honour and responsibility.
What advice do you have for saxophonists either starting out or hoping to be professional musicians?
I think the best thing you can do is listen.
Listen to as many players as possible and figure out the sounds and styles you love. Try and recreate their exact vibrato or tone colour and this will help to expand your own colour palette for playing.
Listen to yourself! Listening back to your own playing can feel like listening back to the sound of your own voice but WORSE. It can be excruciating…but listening it is the best way to learn and the best way to improve. Recording rehearsals, practice sessions and concerts to try and better understand what the audience are hearing has been really helpful. We spend so much time right next to the instrument and whilst we’ll never have the ‘audience experience’ of our own playing, recording can get us pretty close.
Listen to yourself part 2: trust your gut and listen to your instincts. Only you can have the sound, career, ideas and experiences you have so trust yourself and your instincts and don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and outside of the well trodden paths.
Listen to as much music as possible: listening to music from across the world, from across styles and genres can teach us a lot and I think we actually learn more from the music we initially don’t like than that we do.
Which other concert coming up in the Philharmonia’s London season would you most like to come to, and why?
There are so many great concerts coming up but Ryan Bancroft conducting Also sprach Zarathustra as spring is in the air and the seasons start to change on 6 March…wow!
