# Jayson Gillham

Jayson Lloyd Gillham (born 1986) is an Australian-British classical pianist, based in London. In 2014, Gillham was the winner of the 2014 Montreal International Musical Competition.

## Early life

Jayson Gillham was born in Dalby, Queensland. He started piano lessons at the age of four. In 1993, he commenced formal piano lessons from Eugene Gienger in Toowoomba.
In 2007, he graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Subsequently, he relocated to London in 2007 to study at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Christopher Elton. Gillham graduated with a Master's Degree in music. Gillham was supported in his studies by the Tait Memorial Trust, and the Australian Music Foundation.

## Career

In 2012 Gillham was Commonwealth Musician of the Year and Gold Medalist of the Royal Over-Seas League 60th Annual Music Competition. In 2014 he won the Montreal Piano Competition. He also reached the finals of some of the world's leading piano competitions, such as the Leeds International Piano Competition and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Concerto engagements with international orchestras include the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
In May 2015, Gillham signed a three-album exclusive recording contract with ABC Classics. His debut recital album featuring works of Bach, Schubert, and Chopin was released in October 2016. This first release was soon followed by his live recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy. Gillham performed the Beethoven Concerto No. 3 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Jeffrey Tate. His most recent CD, recorded in 2017 of works by Medtner and Rachmaninoff with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Benjamin Northey was Recording of the Month in Limelight magazine. Medtner's Piano Concerto No. 1, as included in this release, will also feature in a documentary film about the life of the renowned Australian pianist Geoffrey Tozer.
In May 2018, Gillham made his debut with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Victor Aviat. He also joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on a UK tour with the British conductor Alexander Shelley. At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards, Gillham with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Carter were nominated for Best Classical Album for Beethoven Piano Concertos.

## Cancelled performance controversy

In August 2024, Gillham performed a new work with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). He spoke prior to the performance, which he dedicated to Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in Gaza. In the speech Gillham said:
   Over the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists. A number of these have been targeted assassinations of prominent journalists as they were traveling in marked press vehicles or wearing their press jackets. The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world. In addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word ‘witness’ in Arabic is ‘shaheed,’ which also means ‘martyr'.
The MSO then cancelled a later scheduled performance by Gilham.
In an interview with journalist David Marr on ABC RN's Late Night Live, Gillham stated that the MSO's actions had actually highlighted the plight of Palestinian journalists, adding that he is "actually so grateful for that." After intense backlash from the musician community, the Orchestra later claimed it had committed an "error" by cancelling Gillham's concert and stated it was working to reschedule it. Musicians at the MSO then expressed a vote of no confidence in the orchestra's managing director.
In September, responding to a letter from Gillham's lawyers suggesting a way for MSO to resolve the matter and thus dispense with further legal action, MSO's lawyers revived their initial position by stating their view that his remarks were an abuse of his appointed function.
On 3 October 2024 Gillham sued the MSO, alleging that he was discriminated against based on political belief or activity, contrary to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Victoria) and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth). He said he had been "silenced for speaking the truth", and that the cancellation of his performance over his political views "strikes at the heart of our right to free speech."

## Discography
### Albums

List of albums with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Etudes de Concert | Released: 2005 Label: Digital Audio Disc Corp. Formats: CD |
| Beethoven | Chopin | Debussy (with Cyprien Katsaris) | Released: 2010 Label: ABC Formats: CD |
| Bach | Schubert | Chopin | Released: 7 October 2016 Label: ABC Formats: CD |
| Medtner: Piano Concerto No.1; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northey) | Released: 25 August 2017 Label: ABC Classics (4815564) Formats: CD, DD |
| Romantic Bach: From Intimate to Epic | Released: 2 November 2018 Label: ABC Classics (4817686) Formats: CD, DD |
| Beethoven: Piano Concertos (Live) (with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Carter) | Released: 20 February 2020 Label: ABC Classics Formats: CD, DD |

## Awards
### AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (known colloquially as the AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | Beethoven: The Piano Concertos (with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Carter) | Best Independent Classical Album or EP | Nominated | |

### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2017 | Medtner: Piano Concerto No 1 / Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 2 (with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Benjamin Northey) | Best Classical Album | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Beethoven Piano Concertos (with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra & Nicholas Carter) | Best Classical Album | Nominated | |

## Personal life

Gillham lives in London with his partner, Sid Mohandas, whom he married in 2016. Gillham actively supports the LGBTI community and expressed his strong support in favour for the 'Yes' campaign in Australia's Marriage Equality Postal Survey. In an interview with the Dalby Herald, Gillham said, 'It's a significant survey because it shows that Australians are on the whole socially liberal, hopeful and forward-looking'.