In Conversation: Jayson Gillham | Rehearsal Magazine

Jayson Gillham is a featured artist in our 25th Anniversary Concert, Stuart Skelton sings Wagner at St Paul’s Church Knightsbridge on Wednesday 13 September at 7pm. Tickets are still available book here via this link

Fascinating Q&A with him published in Melbourne based Rehearsal Magazine.

On homesickness, networking and practice techniques.

Your newly released third album features the rarely-heard Medtner Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor. How did you discover the work and what was the process for programming the remainder of the record?

I was asked to learn Medtner’s first concerto for a feature documentary about the Australian pianist Geoffrey Tozer. Along the way I asked ABC Classics General Manager Toby Chadd whether it was something they would like to record and he liked the idea very much. At the time I was also working on the Rachmaninoff No. 2 with MSO for one of their free concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. It seemed like a great pairing, as the two men were contemporaries and friends. Toby Chadd suggested I add a couple of short solo works, and together we chose the beautiful Medtner ‘Angel’ and I chose the Rachmaninoff D major Prelude.

Performing for a live audience is, I imagine, a different beast to playing for a recording. Does the way you prepare the pieces going into the studio differ from the way you prepare for a live performance?

I always like to prepare everything as if it is for a live performance, however the process of studio recording is different. It could be compared to recording for film as opposed to live theatre. Sometimes you have to start at Act Two Scene Three and be immediately in character and aware of where this scene fits within the overall structure of the work. It can be mentally tiring because you need to maintain this intensity over a number of days.

Since relocating to London for study in 2007, you have performed across the globe with some of the world’s best orchestras and conductors. Can you tell me about that initial trip to the United Kingdom, what it was like to move away from Australia, and now how you look after yourself on the road when you’re away for so much of the year?

This is a great question. I can’t believe it’s already ten years since I left sunny Queensland. It’s a very difficult thing on reflection, to move so far away from home, and to be a country boy at heart who’s grown to form a love-hate relationship with city life. At the beginning, when I first moved to London, I was so caught up in the excitement of study at the Royal Academy of Music and new friends at my student halls that I didn’t realise what an upheaval it was. But after my first trip back to Australia I became very homesick. Over time things have settled to a point where I’m left with bittersweet feelings of being partly at home and partly out of place wherever I go.

I’m getting better at packing for trips. I don’t like quick trips where I have to take only hand luggage and be corralled through large clunky European airports. Those trips are very draining because what should be only a one or two hour flight ends up taking almost a full day by the time you factor in the train/bus journeys at either end and the 2-3hrs you need to be at the airport before the flight. European airports tend to serve a number of different cities and are not close to any of them. Australian domestic air travel is an altogether painless experience after flying in Europe.

I try to eat healthily and for me that means 95% of what I eat is whole plant foods. It’s a very nutritious diet that gives me a lot of energy and I tend to bounce back from the travel better now eating this way. For exercise, while I’m travelling it can be difficult. I really like Feldenkrais, which is popular amongst musicians but less well known than Alexander Technique. It teaches you a really fine awareness of your body through very gentle and pleasant movements. I can get away without massages most of the time now if I keep up with a regular Feldenkrais practice. It helps me to address an imbalance between the left and right sides of my body and a tightness in my mid back which can build up over time if I’m not careful and start to cause me problems. I have added this to my repertoire of strength and physio/pilates based exercises that I can take on the road with me anywhere. But I highly recommend to anyone, especially performing artists, to delve into Feldenkrais. There are endless resources online and a good place to start is www.feldenkrais.co.uk.

Being a professional pianist takes a lot more than just great technique and musicianship: in fact, you have to be fantastic at lots of non-musical things! Outside of the practice room, what have been the most important skills you’ve needed to develop?

For all musicians and especially those focused on mostly solo work and spending a lot of time alone, it is crucial to develop social skills and an ability to communicate with your audience. These days everyone wants to have a more personal connection with the artist and I always try to see the audience after the concert and say hello. For solo recitals in a more intimate or less formal setting, I will introduce each piece, talking about its historical context, its context in the life of the composer, and often my personal connection or experience with that piece.

Another critical skill is an ability to network and promote yourself and your work, with self-respect and discretion of course. At the end of the day no one is going to be as committed to helping you out as yourself, so it is very important to keep contacting promoters, agents, critics, etc, and finding other musicians you like and want to work with. The right tone and balance has to be struck, of course, because friendly reminders and updates can quickly turn into spam emails and unwanted calls.

With recitals and examinations fast approaching for students, getting performance-ready is the task at the front of the mind. Do you have any advice for musicians on dealing with feelings of performance anxiety and stage fright? How do you keep nerves in check before a performance?

I am perhaps not the best person to ask about performance anxiety because I know that it can range from nerves to something rather serious and debilitating, which fortunately I have not experienced. I think it would be wise for anyone with a crippling kind of anxiety to seek professional help in the form of therapy. There are many people who are very experienced in this and I have had friends who have benefited from therapy regarding performance anxiety.

I’ve been very lucky in that my nerves are mostly positive ones that help to make my performance more exciting and narrow my focus on stage. The only times I’ve had the bad kind of nerves is when I’ve felt underprepared, and so I would caution everyone, especially if they have to memorise their works, to know their music well enough that they can pick it up at a number of different points throughout the piece. Practising in a way that really reinforces forms of memory other than muscle memory is very important. Try practising a piece starting at a different point each time, and really get to know where you are structurally in the piece, such as what key you are in and where it modulates to next. Get to know your fingerings and inner voicings, and for pianists, practise the hands separately to the point of being able to completely memorise just the left hand, or try playing only the inner notes of chordal passages to strengthen your deep knowing of the piece. For a contrapuntal work, try singing one part whilst playing all the others. All of these tricks really help to secure a performance to the point where nerves are not going to cause debilitating worry on stage.

I think the more I’ve performed the more I’ve realised that the audience are there to enjoy the music, and they are not there to criticise me at every turn. There might be a couple of people in your average audience who go to concerts wanting to pick everything apart, but the vast majority are appreciative and understanding. People really want the performance to go well for you. And those listening who are performers/teachers/examiners, they have all been on stage themselves and know only too well the pressure of performing. They will also be hoping and wishing that it goes well for you.

Finally, if you could go back to the start of your performance career and give yourself one piece of advice about the industry, what would you say?

Repertoire! Learn lots of repertoire and learn it thoroughly, because later on you will have less time to learn new things. Look after your body. Learn languages (do as I say and not as I do when it comes to this one!).

Jayson Gilham’s new recording with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northey is now available to purchase and download here.

Published with the kind permission of Rehearsal Magazine. 

Read the original article here

To learn more about Jayson Gillham please click here

Stuart Skelton sings Wagner | Concert now on sale

The Tait Memorial Trust is to present renowned Australian tenor Stuart Skelton, at a gala concert to celebrate our 25th Anniversary at St Paul’s Church Knightsbridge, on Wednesday the 13th September at 7pm.

“Stuart Skelton’s Tristan is the finest account of Wagner’s most extreme and taxing operatic character…that I’ve ever seen or heard on a stage.”  David Nice, The Arts Desk, June 2016

Stuart is arguably the world’s leading Wagnerian Heldentenor; he is critically acclaimed for outstanding musicianship, tonal beauty and for his intensely dramatic portrayals. As Tristan, he recently opened the 2017/18 season at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and will make his long-awaited Royal Opera House debut singing Siegmund in Die Walküre in 2018.

To book click here

He will shortly appear in this year’s BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall singing Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Accompanied by pianist Richard Peirson, Stuart will be joined by some of the Tait’s talented past and present awardees, Catherine Carby who is singing in the Royal Opera’s Ring Cycle next year, Deborah Humble who most recently recorded Erda for Naxos with Hong Kong Philharmonic, Katrina Sheppeard who last year sang Norma for English National Opera, Jayson Gillham who’s CD of Chopin, Bach and Schubert went to number 1 in Australia, and Liane Keegan, our first awardee, will return to London after a triumphant season in Melbourne’s recent Ring Cycle.

All are appearing to help raise funds for the Tait Trust’s work of providing scholarships for young performing artists from Australia and New Zealand studying in the UK.  The evening will be introduced by Richard Wagner’s great-great grandson, Antoine Wagner.

Jayson Gillham | New Album Release ABC Classics

New Release
ABC Classics – Pre-order now
Medtner Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2

Jayson Gillham CD cover artwork

We are very excited to announce that Jayson Gillham’s latest disc with ABC Classics is now available to pre-order, and will be released on 7th July!  It features concertos by two Russian friends Rachmaninoff and Medtner.

Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 is one of the most beloved works in the repertoire, which Jayson has paired with the much less-known but equally stunning Concerto No. 1 by Medtner.

To order your copy now click this link:
ABC Shop – Jayson Gillham

Other places to hear and buy Jayson’s recordings:
iTunes | Spotify | Amazon

Upcoming Concerts

View full details here

Australian Festival of Chamber Music
2-5 August 2017
Townsville, QLD, Australia

West Australian Symphony Orchestra
18-19 August 2017
Perth, WA, Australia

St Mary’s Perivale
10 September 2017
London, UK

25 years of the Tait Memorial Trust – Wagner Spectacular featuring Stuart Skelton
13 September 2017
London, UK

Dorstone House
1 October 2017
Herefordshire, UK

Bloomsbury Festival – Conway Hall
21 October 2017
London, UK

 

View full details here

Jayson Gillham – to play in Acton, Sunday June 4th, 4pm – 5:15pm

Jayson Gillham, to perform at Acton Hill Church for the first time on June 4th in an all-Bach programme.

Despite composing in the era of the harpsichord and clavichord, Bach has long held fascination for many of the world’s greatest pianists, and his Well-Tempered Clavier remains one of the great show-pieces for artistry at the piano.

Jayson has prepared an exciting program for us, mixing pieces from the Well-Tempered Clavier, with some of Bach’s thrilling organ music and piano transcriptions by some of the great exponents of piano – Rachmaninoff, Cortot and Kempf.

Full Program

Suite from Violin Partita in E major BWV 1006
(trans. Rachmaninoff)
Prelude
Gavotte
Gigue

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor BWV 873
(Well-Tempered Clavier Bk II)

Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor BWV 867
(Well-Tempered Clavier Bk I)

Toccata in G major BWV 916
[Allegro]
Adagio
Allegro e presto

Siciliano from Flute Sonata in E-flat major BWV 1031
(trans. Kempff)

Toccata in C minor BWV 911
[Toccata]
Adagio
[Allegro]

Largo from Keyboard Concerto in F minor BWV 1056
(trans. Cortot)

Organ Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 543
(trans. Liszt)

Picture

 4pm-5pm. Tickets: adults £6.00, concessions £5.00, children £2.00. Tickets available at the door. Crèche facilities available.

 Jayson Gillham

Born and raised in Queensland, London-based Australian pianist Jayson Gillham is recognised as one of the finest pianists of his generation. He is internationally praised for his compelling performances and relentless elegance. Jayson’s recent performances of Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy, were met with critical acclaim.

After receiving numerous prizes from some of the world’s leading piano competitions, it was Jayson’s win at the 2014 Montreal International Music Competition that brought him to international attention. Jayson’s outstanding performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 was described as being performed “with such streamlined patrician elegance that he took home the 1st Prize and a string of engagements to follow.” (Huffington Post)

Jayson now performs with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors with recent and future highlights including engagements with the Sydney Symphony / Vladimir Ashkenazy, Melbourne Symphony / Benjamin Northey, Adelaide Symphony / Jeffrey Tate, West Australia Symphony / Asher Fisch, Queensland Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, the Hallé Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Eroica Ensemble, Nashville Symphony / Asher Fisch, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana and Wuhan Philharmonic amongst others.

In recital, Jayson performs at prestigious venues across the globe including the Wigmore Hall, Louvre Auditorium, Saffron Hall, Royal Nottingham Concert Hall, City Recital Hall Sydney, Melbourne Recital Centre and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre amongst others. Chamber music forms an important part of Jayson’s career with highlights including performances with the Jerusalem, Carducci, Tinalley, Brentano, Ruysdael and Flinders string quartets.

Jayson records exclusively for ABC Classics and the recent release of his debut recital album (Oct 2016) featuring works by Bach, Schubert and Chopin immediately reached the No.1 spot in both the Core Classical and Classical Crossover ARIA charts. In 2017 Jayson will record works by Medtner and Rachmaninoff with the Melbourne Symphony, and, will also feature in a documentary film about the life of Geoffrey Tozer with Jayson performing Medtner Piano Concerto No.1.

Tait Winter Prom 2016 at St John's Smith Square | Sponsored by Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Reflecting upon our 5th Tait Winter Prom and our rapidly approaching quarter century, I feel overwhelmed by the wonderful support and goodwill we had for this event, as for all of them since our very first concert with Liane Keegan at Australia House in 1992. A major Australian scholarship holder, Liane‘s arrival in the UK in that year prompted me to think about how we might set about trying to help talented young Australians arriving to study and work in Europe, and thus the Tait Memorial Trust was born.

 

2016 was  another big and busy year for us, with three successful events, in addition to the Winter Prom. In the 2016/17 UK academic year  19 young artists will receive assistance from us, of awards totalling £40,000, which is more than triple the sum of only three years ago. Especially pleasing is the support of young dancers through the Leanne Benjamin Awards, and we look forward to extending our relationships with individuals and corporations who recognise the challenges facing very young Australian dancers leaving home and family to follow their dreams.

We also acknowledge a generous bequest from the Estate of Lady Mackerras, which will guarantee a ten year sponsorship of an orchestral chair for an Australian musician, in the Southbank Sinfonia, in the name of Sir Charles Mackerras. Heartfelt thanks to their daughter, Cathy, for appreciating and continuing the encouragement her father and mother always warmly extended to us.

The Trust has been honoured with such generous and continuing support and friendship from HE The Hon. Alexander Downer, High Commissioner for Australia, and his wife Nicola, who were our guests of honour at the Prom. With the help of a new enthusiastic and hard-working Tait Artistic Planning Committee, we again formed a near all-Australian chamber orchestra, a number of whom have been supported by the Trust in their studies. Our conductor Jessica Cottis, who is chairing this committee, is fast gaining recognition internationally for her work, and we are so very lucky to have her inspirational guidance as we continue to support the next generation of talented young Australians who come here to complete their studies.

We dedicated our first work, Mozart‘s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K364 to our much loved Patron, The Dowager Countess of Harewood, on the occasion of her 90th Birthday. Once a professional violinist herself, this has special meaning for her. We are so grateful for Lady Harewood’s patronage over much of our 25 years – that she has wanted to share our cause has been very gratifying, and immensely helpful to us. A very happy 90th Birthday!

Dowager Countess of Harewood
Dowager Countess of Harewood

We are also deeply indebted to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, who have been our Principal Partner for the past three years. We hope, as they see the important work we do for the young Australians in this highly competitive arts marketplace here, that their very welcome support will continue.

Chevalier Richard Gunter has once again generously sponsored our venue, this time the marvellous St John‘s Smith Square, and to our many individual sponsors and loyal supporters, all of whom we gratefully acknowledge below: we are so pleased to see your sponsorship growing year-on-year – we can‘t do without you!

Chevalier Richard Gunter
Chevalier Richard Gunter

Please continue to help us in any way you can (Click here for further information). Next year is our 25th anniversary and our work goes on! Happy Christmas, we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

isla_signature_transparent

Isla Baring OAM
Chairman,
The Tait Memorial Trust

Tait Winter Prom Angels
Chev. Richard Gunter (Hire of the Hall)
The Hon. Sarah Joiner (Programme printing)
Mrs Jan Gowrie-Smith (Conductor)
The Linbury Trust
The Bernays Trust
Mr Kerry Rubie
Viscountess Bridgeman
Lady Rosa Lipworth CBE
Dame Norma Major DBE
Mrs Pamela Le Couter
Mr Patrick Kennedy
Mrs Lyn Robertson
Mr & Mrs J Bryant
Lady Jopling
Mr Christin Odey

Supported the Orchestra
Mr Peter Box
Mrs Katherine Scholfield
Mrs Lynette Braithwaite
The Hon. Susan Baring OBE
Mrs June Mendoza AM OBE
Countess of Portsmouth
Mr Henry Lumley
The Hon. Mrs Patricia Wyndham

Partners:
Australia Day Foundation
Australian Business
Britain-Australia Society
Royal Over-Seas League
Australian Charity
Art Auction
Australian Women‘s Club, London
The Cook Society

With thanks:
Roses Only UK
SANZA
Raffle Prize donors
West Green Opera
Nexus

Special thanks:
Diana Murray
Jeremy Vinogradov
Vivien Conacher
Simon Campion
Amanda Fitzwilliams
Acknowledgements:
Bobby Williams, Video
Hannan Images, Photo
Anne Longdon
Jessica Cottis
Artistic Planning Committee
Steve McRae
Tonight‘s soloists
The Tait Chamber Orchestra
The Tait Committee
The Sidney Nolan Trust

OUR SUPPORTERS
We are very grateful for the support that we receive from

Principal Partner
Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Tait Grainger Patron £10,000+
Julian Baring Family*
The Estate of Lady Mackerras*

Tait Sutherland Benefactor £5,000+
Sir David & Lady Higgins*
Mr John Frost AM*

Tait Bonynge Partner £3,000+
The Estate of Peggy Haim

Tait Helpmann Circle £1,000+
Mrs Jan Gowrie-Smith
Chevalier Richard Gunter
Mr & Mrs David Hunter
Mr Albert Kwok & Mrs Stephanie McGregor
Mr Andrew Loewenthal & Ms Eugenie White*
The Thornton Foundation
Mrs Margaret Rodgers
Mrs Jacqueline Thompson & Mr Damian Walsh
Mr Michael Whalley
Ms Karen Goldie-Morrison*
Ms Louise Worthington*
VEC Acorn Trust

TMT Frank & Viola Friends £500+
Mr Julian Agnew
Mr & Mrs Christopher Braithwaite
Mr Hugh Bayne

Tait Amis Supporter £250+
Mr John Coke
The Hon. Sarah Joiner
Mrs Anne Longdon
Mr & Mrs Jan Pethick
Mr Kerry Rubie
The Hon. Sir R. Storey Bt CBE

TMT Friends £75+
Miss Marylyn Abbott
Mr Eric Adler
Mrs June Allison
Ms Ariadne Jane Baring
The Hon. Mark Baring
The Hon. Susan Baring OBE
Mrs Nina Bialoguski
Mr Lindsay Birrell
Ms Sue Bradbury
Viscountess Harriet Bridgeman
Mrs Diana Burley
Mrs Lorraine Buckland
Mrs Jane Butter
Mr Marcus Clapham
Mrs Sandra Clapham
Mr John Crisp
Ms Fay Curtin
Mr Roger Davenport
Mrs Anne Davidson
Mrs Celeste Ekerick
Mr Edward Field
Dr Rodney Foale
Miss Rosemary Frischer
Mr Phillip Hart
Dr John Keets
Mr Patrick Kennedy
Mr Martin Kramer
Mrs Wendy Kramer
Lady Rosa Lipworth CBE
Mr Henry Lumley
Miss Joanna McCallum
Ms Sue McGregor
Ms Lisa Orlov
Ms Mary Rayner
Mr John Rendall
Ms Jacqueline Rowlands
Ms Katherine Scholfield
Mr Ian Tegner
Mrs Annette Thorp
Rev John Wates OBE
*Adopt a Performer

Ensemble Eroica at Australia House | Australian Nexus

Ensemble Eroica Promotes Young Australian Artists

Ensemble Eroica plays to its Australian connections with a debut concert at London’s imposing Australia House on The Strand. Buried within the grand exterior, the elegant Downer Room will play host to a programme of Mozart, Grainger and Copland, featuring three exciting young Australian artists.

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Programme:

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Grainger: Handel in the Strand
Mozart: Ch’io mi scordi di te?
Copland: Appalachian Spring

Conductor: Toby Thatcher
Piano Soloist: Jayson Gillham
Soprano: Alexandra Oomens

Attendance by RSVP only.

Date:18th Jan 2017
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Venue: Downer Room, Australia House
Address: Downer Room, Australia House, Strand London WC2B 4LA, UK
Price: Optional Donation

Web
View Websitehttp://www.ensembleeroicalondon.com/
Twitter: @ensembleeroica
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ensembleeroicalondon/

Source: Ensemble Eroica at Australia House – Australian Nexus

Jessica Cottis: “There’s still a block for women conductors” – Limelight Magazine

The conductor of this year’s Tait Memorial Trust concert on gender, education and musical styles.

It’s that time of year again in London when the beautiful concert hall at St. John’s Smith Square is taken over by the Australian, Tait Memorial Trust.

The venue will be filled with talented Australian musicians and singers, many having benefitted from a Tait music scholarship. November 30th will be an opportunity for audiences to hear a wonderful programme of music and spot the Australian stars of the future.

If you are living in London or have friends over there, you should rush to get tickets. Conducting and curating this concert will be the internationally acclaimed Australian-born conductor, Jessica Cottis. On a wet and stormy London morning we manage to Skype and I ask first about her involvement with the Tait Memorial Trust.

“I sit on their advisory board and together we make the artistic decisions for programming concerts,”

she says.

“I benefitted from a Tait scholarship myself so feel really excited to be working with students and professionals who have come up through the same route.”

—–READ MORE—–

Source: Jessica Cottis: “There’s still a block for women conductors”

Deborah Humble joins the Music Board of the Tait Memorial Trust

Acclaimed for her performances of the works of Richard Wagner, Australian mezzo-soprano, Deborah Humble is one of Australia’s most successful international singers. She has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg Easter Festival, Seattle Symphony, with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Hamburg Philharmonic and the London Mozart Players and at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. We are delighted to confirm that Deborah has agreed to join the Music Board, of esteemed Australian performers and artists, of the Tait Memorial Trust.

After gaining a Bachelor of Music from the University of Adelaide and a Masters Degree from the University of Melbourne, Deborah was a member of the Victoria State Opera Young Artist Programme. Having been a Principal Artist for both Opera Australia and The State Opera of Hamburg she has embarked upon a freelance career which takes her all over the world. Deborah is a highly sought after adjudicator and advanced teacher in Australia and recently gave a master class for the Melba Trust in Melbourne, as part of her role as a Mentor with the Trust, and was also invited to adjudicate for the Sydney Eisteddfod

The Music Board and the Artistic Planning Committee bring their vast international experience to assist us in selecting our Annual awards. Over the past three years our awards have more than doubled, and have  increased to £40,000 per annum, with several awards of £5,000 per awardee, the selection process is vital to ensure the most deserving and talented young artists are supported in their studies.

lifestyle4
Deborah Humble, Mezzo-Soprano

Deborah joins our Music Board which is chaired by TMT Chairman, Isla Baring OAM

Caroline Almonte, Concert Pianist
Julian Gavin, Operatic Tenor
Dr Leslie Howard, Concert Pianist
Deborah Humble, Operatic Mezzo-Soprano
Liane Keegan, Operatic Dramatic-Contralto
Cameron Menzies, Stage & Opera Director
Anthony Roden, Operatic Tenor & Teacher

Tait Artistic Planning
Jessica Cottis, Conductor
Jayson Gillham, Concert Pianist
Katrina Sheppeard, Operatic Soprano
Chad Vindin, Accompanist

To apply for a Tait Award please check our website here for further information.

Jayson Gillham shows why he has the world at his fingertips | News Local

Lovely article from the Daily Telegraph about Tait Awardee, Jayson Gillham, and a stunning review for his City Recital Hall concert in Sydney on the 24th October. His tour now continues to Adelaide with the Adelaide Symphony and then ends with a sold-out recital at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

CHILDHOOD piano lessons for brilliant young virtuoso Jayson Gillham’s meant a 500km round car trip with his mum from his home in Dalby, Queensland. All those miles and effort paid off when, at the age of 17, he reached the semi-finals of the gruelling Sydney International Piano Competition. A scholarship and move to London, where he is now based, added further polish and eventually led to a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music. Now he is back on home ground after a much-acclaimed Sydney Symphony debut earlier this month performing Beethoven’s Piano concerto No. 4 with piano great Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting. And, as part of that triumphal tour, Gillham played a program of Bach, Handel, Beethoven and Schumann in the latest of the SSO’s International Pianists In Recital series. He opened with what he describes as a “here I am” piece in Bach’s Toccata and fugue in C minor BWV 911, which incidentally opens his newly-released debut recording for ABC Classics. 

DAZZLING 

The work, with its deft interplay between left and right hand, showed off Gillham’s grace and elegance, as well as a dazzling and smoothly-controlled technique. His articulation and accuracy in both hands, complemented by astute use of the sustain pedal, meant that all the “voices” of the double fugue came through with crystal clarity. The prodigious variations in Handel’s Chaconne in G indulged Gillham’s flashier side, albeit seasoned with great taste, sensitivity and judgment. This was a reading carved not of granite, but more one of polished marble Beethoven considered Handel the greatest composer of them all so the eight-minute set of variations made an apt curtain-raiser to the final piece of the first half, the Waldstein sonata. Here the 30-year-old soloist forsook blood and guts for a more refined approach to Beethoven and at times the rondo finale was a little rushed. 

This was a reading carved not of granite, but more one of polished marble. 

Jayson Gillham performs Chopin. 
The second half was all Romance with Schumann’s lengthy piano workout, the Etudes symphoniques, which complete with the five posthumous variations clocks in at 37 minutes. This listener would have preferred the Schubert sonata Gillham performs on his new CD! As if this set of 12 variations wasn’t enough to convince the audience of Gillham’s prowess, the encores were. Liszt’s Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto quartet is a favourite showstopper, but Gillham had more. The evening started with and ended with Bach, albeit Rachmaninoff’s spectacular transcription of the violin partita No.3. If, like Bach, Gillham wanted to announce “Here I am!”, we all certainly got the message loud and clear.

DETAILS

Steve Moffatt, NewsLocalOctober 25, 2016 8:07am

October 25, 2016 8:07am

●CONCERT: Jayson Gillham in recital

●WHERE: City Recital Hall Angel Place

●WHEN: Monday, October 24

Source: Jayson Gillham shows why he has the world at his fingertips | News Local

Who will be Limelight's Artists of the Year? You decide

Below is the link to vote for Limelight’s Artist of the Year. We are thrilled to see that Tait Awardees;  Amy Dickson, saxophone & Jayson Gillham, piano, have been nominated.

amy-dickson
Amy Dickson

Amy was recently awarded the honour to be the Young Australian of the Year in the UK for 2016, the latest accolade in a quickly growing list of prizes. The UK Australia Day Awards, introduced by the non-profit Australia Day Foundation, recognise those Australians who excel in their fields in the United Kingdom.
Australia Day Foundation Director, Dick Porter said: “Amy is an outstanding young Australian and we are delighted to recognise her success with this award.”
The award was presented by the Australian High Commissioner, the Honourable Alexander Downer AC at Australia House, London.

Jayson is currently enjoying great success in Australia, to date he has played at QPAC in recital for Medici Concerts, Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto with the Sydney Symphony, a recital at Sydney’s Recital Hall and he is to play Beethoven’s 3rd piano concerto with the Adelaide Symphony, his tour ends with a recital in the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Jayson Gillham
Jayson Gillham

Who will be Limelight’s Artists of the Year?

Vote here for who you’d like to see honoured in our Australian and International Artists of the Year Awards.

Each year, Limelight’s experienced team of reviewers painstakingly selects a group of winning recordings in each of five categories for our annual Recording of the Year Awards. In addition, this year our critics have created a shortlist of 40 outstanding musicians and ensembles – 20 Australian and 20 International artists – for our annual Limelight Artists of the Year Awards.

Some are established artists and some are relative newcomers. Several of the international artists have thrilled Australian audiences in performance while others have released stunning recordings or have achieved accomplishments of note in their field. The nominees include performers, composers, ensembles and conductors, all of whom are in the running to win one of two inaugural Limelight Artist of the Year Awards.

Now it’s your chance to be involved. We’d like you, Limelight readers, to vote for the Australian and international artist that you would most like to see honoured. The public vote will then be combined with the votes of our critical panel, and the announcement of the lucky winners will be made in our special holiday issue of Limelight, out January 5, 2017. And please note, for the purposes of these awards, a non-Australian with a post at an Australian orchestra has been counted as an Australian artist rather than as an International.

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday November 6

Australian Artists

Australian Haydn Ensemble
Australian World Orchestra
Nicole Car
Brett Dean
Amy Dickson
Ross Edwards
Asher Fisch
Jayson Gillham
Richard Gill
Erin Helyard
Elena Kats-Chernin
Piers Lane
Latitude 37
Emma Matthews
Joseph Nolan
Dene Olding
Alondra de la Parra
Seraphim Trio
Stuart Skelton
Richard Tognetti

International Artists

Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
Joyce DiDonato
Christoph von Dohnányi
Mahan Esfahani
Franco Fagioli
Susan Graham
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Stephen Hough
Jerusalem Quartet
Lang Lang
Paul Lewis
Felicity Lott
Pumeza Matshikiza
Andris Nelsons
Jordi Savall
Takacs Quartet
Daniil Trifonov
Yuja Wang
John Wilson


Please note: By entering this poll you agree to receive Limelight’s Weekly Newsletter. If you already receive our Weekly Newsletter you still need to fill out the form; this will update your information with your vote. If you have any trouble accessing the voting button above, please click here.

by Limelight Magazine on October 14, 2016 (October 14, 2016) filed under Classical Music | Orchestral | Chamber | Instrumental | Vocal & Choral | Opera | Comment Now

Source: Who will be Limelight’s Artists of the Year? You decide