Jess Gillam wins Classic BRIT Award
Huge congratulations to saxophonist Jess Gillam, winner of the inaugural Sound of Classical Poll at the Classic BRIT Awards.
Aimed to promote the best emerging artists and ones-to-watch in classical music, the Sound of Classical Poll was a new initiative for the Classic BRITS and included a shortlist of five singers and musicians aged between 13 and 30 (including vocal alum Carly Paoli) who all featured on a special week on Classic FM.
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- Jess Gillam with the Sound of Classical Poll award at the Classic Brit Awards 2018, Royal Albert Hall, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION. Picture date: Wednesday June 13, 2018. Photo credit should read: Isabel Infantes/PA Wire
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- Jess Gillam with the Sound of Classical Poll award at the Classic Brit Awards 2018, Royal Albert Hall, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION. Picture date: Wednesday June 13, 2018. Photo credit should read: Isabel Infantes/PA Wire
Talking after the awards ceremony, Jess said: ‘Every performance that I give I aim to be as honest as I possibly can and it’s an instrument [saxophone] that isn’t as widely performed as much as the others in the classical sphere and I’m really trying to do as much as I can for the instrument and for the music. I’m not sure what’s made me different but I’m really, really proud to have won it.’
The 2018 Classic BRIT Awards, in association with Classic FM, took place at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 13 June. This year’s winners included Andrea Bocelli (Classic BRITs Icon), Dame Very Lynn (Lifetime Achievement Award), Michael Ball and Alfie Boe (Group of the Year), Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (Special Recognition Award for Musical Theatre and Education), Renee Fleming (Female Artist of the Year) and Sheku Kanneh-Mason (Male Artist of the Year and the Critics’ Choice in association with Apple Music).
We asked @JessGillamSax why she thinks she won the Sound of Classical Poll 2018 and here’s what she had to say… 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0BO5znrxv3
— Classic BRIT Awards (@classicbrits) June 13, 2018
Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, said: ‘We congratulate all the Classic BRITs winners on their deserved awards, which reflect classic music in all its diversity. It’s wonderful to see great icons such as Dame Vera Lynn and Andrea Bocelli being rightly honoured but also very encouraging to witness a new wave bristling with talent, such as Sheku-Kanneh-Mason, Tokio Myers and Sound Of Classical Poll winner Jess Gillam,breaking through. With such exciting new artists, classical music is evolving and embracing the opportunities that the streaming era offers to connect with new fans.’
Watch the whole ceremony on ITV at 10.30pm on Sunday 17 June.
14 June 2018
