Alison Balsom (trumpet) on CD, SACD & download (MP3 & FLAC) - Buy online from Presto Classical The Choir Of King’s College, Cambridge , Stephen Cleobury The first release of 2015 from the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge presents the choir singing anthems based on hymn tunes from the Anglican choral tradition. 'English Hymn Anthems' continues the choir’s active commitment to expanding the popular understanding of choral repertoire through original research and recording. Highlights include Parry’s epic' Hear my words, ye people' and 'Lord, Thou has been our refuge' by Vaughan Williams, featuring the trumpeter Alison Balsom. It provides at once a survey of traditional services at King’s College Chapel and a window into the little-known form of the hymn-anthem.

The album joins the label’s other critically-acclaimed recordings including the chart-topping 'Favourite Carols from King’s', debut release 'Nine Lessons and Carols', which reached number 2 in the UK Specialist Classical Chart, 'Mozart Requiem Realisations', and the celebrated Fauré 'Requiem' which received Recording of the Month from BBC Music Magazine, number 4 on Classic FM’s Albums of 2014 and an IRR Outstanding from International Record Review. The album’s release will be accompanied by an extensive international press and marketing campaign. At the end of March 2015, the choir will embark on a tour of the United States, performing a repertoire of sacred choral music including repertoire from this album. King’s College Choir owes its existence to King Henry VI, who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel; the 16 choristers are educated at King’s College School, whilst the 14 choral scholars and two organ scholars study a variety of subjects in the College. This remains the Choir’s raison d’être, but its worldwide fame and reputation, enhanced by its many recordings and broadcasts, has led to high-profile performances around the world.

The highlight of the choral year is the worldwide live radio broadcast of the renowned Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and the television broadcasts of Carols from King’s and Easter from King’s. “The King's performance [of the Parry] is predictably idiomatic, if a touch carefully preened and respectful...[Ireland's] is a more explicitly dramatic setting, and the singers seem to relish this...Parker Ramsay's organ accompaniment is a model of intelligent supportiveness.” BBC Music Magazine, Awards Issue 2015 **** “The airy acoustic of the chapel coupled with the fine Harrison & Harrison (mostly) organ help to define a peculiarly and uniquely English sound, especially suited to the repertoire on this fine disc...this is King's playing to its considerable strengths at all levels” Gramophone Magazine, June 2015 Alison Balsom (trumpet) The Guy Barker Orchestra, Guy Barker An ‘astonishing virtuosa’ (The Times) with ‘limitless potential’ (The Guardian), Alison Balsom is a multi-faceted trumpet player involved in a broad range of musical projects.

The pieces on this collection inhabit a common Parisian musical world, but the voices that emerge from them are incredibly varied. From Ravel to Reinhardt, Balsom illustrates the flexibility and expressiveness of her instrument, supported by the orchestra of jazz composer and trumpeter Guy Barker. One of today’s most in-demand classical music personalities, English trumpeter and BBC Proms darling Alison Balsom shares her love of Paris on this new solo album. After becoming the first British woman to win Gramophone Magazine’s prestigious Artist of the Year award, Alison brings her glamour, poise and dazzling virtuosity to Paris with a selection of music written in and inspired by the most romantic city in the world. This album marks a major departure for Alison Balsom from the core classical repertoire, with which she has established her distinguished recording and performing career to date, to a crossover album, taking inspiration from a number of different artists and influences. The concept of the album is Paris as seen by artists and composers as diverse as Olivier Messiaen, Astor Piazzolla, Django Rheinardt and Cole Porter.

In collaboration with Guy Barker – a trumpeter who has worked with the biggest names in the business, and with a solid reputation in the jazz world – Alison reinterprets the greatest music written about in and about Paris. With guest artists Miloš Karadaglić, and Julian Ovenden on a bonus track available on iTunes, this album is sure to position Alison amongst the top-selling classical artists with mainstream appeal and broad recognition. Read Presto's complete review of this disc here . “Balsom is a long-term Francophile...and affection and empathy radiates from all the material on this disc.

Lovers of Balsom’s glorious, malleable sound will need no prompting from me, but even if you’d normally find the prospect of an entire trumpet disc a little indigestible you’ll be won over.” Presto Classical, 8th September 2014 “This potpourri of a recital is...very much of its own time, eclectically flavoured in its collaborative elements and juxtaposition of music languages [sic], and deftly underpinned by Balsom's considered curating.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2014 Presto Disc of the Week 8th September 2014 The English Concert , Trevor Pinnock In the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, Alison Balsom celebrates the heroic era of the Baroque trumpet in works by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and Henry Purcell (1658 or 1659-1695), whose anthems, odes, sinfonias and operas have provided the music for numerous royal celebrations from their own day to the present.

Joining forces with Trevor Pinnock, harpsichordist, conductor and pioneer of historical performance, and with the English Concert orchestra that he founded, Balsom demonstrates the versatility and expressive power of her valve-less instrument in original works and new arrangements. These include Purcell’s Sound the trumpet and Handel’s Eternal Source of light divine in duet with countertenor Iestyn Davies and Purcell’s The Plaint from The Fairy Queen in duet with soprano Lucy Crowe. Further repertoire includes suites from Purcell’s semi-operas King Arthur (1691) and The Fairy Queen (1692) in new arrangements by Balsom and Pinnock, Handel’s Water Piece in D Major HWV 341 and his Oboe Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major HWV 301 transposed into C Major. Alison Balsom is one of today’s most popular classical musicians. Having managed to break through to the mainstream without abandoning her musical integrity, she continues to draw ever-wider audiences for her performances and recordings of diverse repertoire. Read Presto's complete review of this disc here .

“This charming disc contains some of the most imaginative and polished trumpet playing you're ever likely to hear...Born-again authenticists may cavil at Balsom's vented trumpet, a modern development aiding intonation. But her flexible tuning, scrupulously focused to blend with the harmony, is a relief from the compromised tuning needed to play certain notes on true 18th-century instruments.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 ***** “One of the disc’s chief merits is the skill with which Balsom demonstrates the versatility of natural trumpets, reminding us that they are capable of a wide range of colours.” Early Music Today **** “when the instrument is played as fluidly agreeably as it is here, nobody could doubt that it is the right tool for the job...And it all works. This is rattling good music, and so easily does the trumpet fit into it that often it is hard to recall what the original scorings were anyway.

Balsom, too, sounds utterly at home...and [is] wonderfully backed by the English Concert and the bright natural musicianship of Trevor Pinnock” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012 “Up at the top of her range, or down below, fast or slow, she is in superb control and form...the lightness of the string accompaniments, the calm attention to springy rhythms, the unobtrusive sensitivity of the phrasing, all done without exaggerated emphasis or anachronistic flamboyance, are a sheer delight...[Pinnock] is surely a national treasure” International Record Review, December 2012 “the music-making is a joy from beginning to end. Alison Balsom’s playing is stunning. The tone and intonation are fabulous; the lip trills, ornaments and runs simply staggering.

How she achieves this level of technical assurance on an instrument without valves is remarkable...Crowe’s rendition of The Plaint from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen is sensitively and beautifully sung and it’s obvious that there’s an equal musical partnership captured here” MusicWeb International, April 2013 “the easy rapport between soloist and band is evident from every bar of every work...One of the great pleasures of this disc is the seamless and apparently effortless blend of trumpet and each voice: Alison colours her timbre to take on almost crumhorn-ish tones when duetting with Crowe, whilst there’s plenty of ‘front’ and metal in the sound when she joins Davies for the more vigorous Purcell.” Katherine Cooper, Presto Classical, 8th October 2012 “Her distinctive tone remains clearly recognisable, despite the instrument's limitations.

The timbre is sweeter, less aggressively strident than that of the modern trumpet, and she’s paired with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert, providing crisp, bouncy support.” The Arts Desk, 1st December 2012 “For historical accuracy, she plays the valve-less “natural” trumpet: it really does appear to offer a more direct access to the human voice, a quality confirmed when she duets with countertenor Iestyn Davies” The Independent, 13th October 2012 **** “The music is glorious; so is Balsom’s artistry as she weaves a flawless path alongside Trevor Pinnock’s English Concert” The Times, 19th October 2012 *** Presto Disc of the Week 8th October 2012 Alison Balsom (trumpet) Alison Balsom is the world’s preeminent female classical trumpeter. She is an unique and independent artist who have broken through to the mainstream whilst retaining her integrity and core musical values. Exceptional talent, a glamorous stage presence and a witty and engaging personality make Alison one of the most exciting and bankable artists in the core classical world today.

Alison’s new recording of modern and contemporary repertoire marks an important artistic stepping stone in her career. This labour of love features the world premiere recording of Seraph, James MacMillan’s trumpet concerto written for Alison, works by Takemitsu and Zimmermann and includes her long-awaited recording of the ever popular Arutunian Trumpet Concerto. Read Presto's complete review of this disc here .

“what really makes this performer so magnetic and distinctive is the quality of the notes that tumble so effortlessly from whatever trumpet she holds in her hands, and whatever music she plays....[Zimmermann's] stylistically eclectic, passionate plea for racial harmony makes an immediate impact, especially when jazz kicks in and the music excitingly hurtles forward two thirds of the way through.” The Times, 6th January 2012 “the highlight is James MacMillan's "Seraph", with the assertive opening brio giving way to a more reflective Adagio dialogue between trumpet and violin, before emerging refreshed for the animated closing movement.” The Independent, 6th January 2012 *** “[Macmillan's concerto] deftly combines trumpet and strings in music that ranges from the incisiveness of its first movement, via the 'seraphic' plaintiveness of its lightly textured Adagio to the robust interplay of the finale. Balsom takes its not inconsiderable demands in her stride, with the Scottish Ensemble unstinting in its support.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012 “[Balsom] plays [the Macmillan] radiantly with the Scottish Ensemble.

Concertos by Alexander Arutiunian and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, played with the BBC SSO, highlight Balsom’s technical and interpretative aplomb.” The Telegraph, 18th January 2012 **** “'Seraph' is concise and communicative, and, as expected from Macmillan, approachable. Balsom gets its (one hopes) long career off to a strong start...[in the Zimmermann] Balsom is in her element.

She advocates for this music with passion and dignity, and the strength of her technique allows her to focus on communicating the work's emotional content...this disc speaks well of her continuing maturation as an artist.” International Record Review, January 2012 “Seraph may not quite be another Veni, Veni Emmanuel...But it's still very enjoyable, from the Haydn-tinged jollity of the first movement, through a mysterious and lyrical slow movement to the rousing finale...Balsom is a superb advocate, combining technical brilliance with penetrating musicianship - a true poet of the trumpet as well as a formidable athlete.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 ***** “Balsom’s glorious sound makes you forgive any musical shortcomings [in the Arutunian]...Less pretentious and more musically satisfying than one has any right to expect, [the Zimmermann] is possibly a masterpiece...there’s something calmly uplifting about good brass playing.

And this disc, well, uplifts.” The Arts Desk, 24th March 2012 “MacMillan clearly understands the varied and subtle colours and emotions that the instrument can express...With unstinting commitment from Balsom, who plays with real passion and belief throughout, this is a memorable performance [of the Zimmermann] and well worth returning to.” Chris O'Reilly, Presto Classical, 6th February 2012 Presto Disc of the Week 6th February 2012 Scottish Ensemble 'She makes the trumpet sing with an irresistible exuberance and eloquence.' With the human voice a particular inspiration in the music of Italy, the words of The Times have a special resonance for Alison Balsom in these works composed or inspired by Italian composers of the 18th century. This collection provides an apt vehicle for the award-winning trumpeter's characteristic brilliance and grace. Following the popular and critical international success of her Haydn and Hummel concertos recording, Alison Balsom has recorded a programme of Italian Baroque concertos. The album has quickly garnered critics’ praise: “The fast movements are played with sparkling ease and technical brilliance.

The slow movement [Balsom] forms delicately, tenderly, yet without denying she’s playing a brass instrument.” - MDR Figaro After the release of Caprice in 2006, Gramophone wrote, “It's not often that a young musician appears on the scene abundantly blessed with everything both an A&R and marketing person could dream of, but the young British trumpeter Alison Balsom fulfils just such a dream. She's a musician of prodigious talent with an inquisitive, fresh approach to music-making. She is connected to her public, and rewards their attention with playing of a winning ease and fluency. She has an engaging personality … and the intelligence to take her burgeoning career well in her stride.” In this new recording, Balsom, the 2009 Classical BRIT Artist of the Year, plays popular concertos originally composed for the violin or oboe by Vivaldi, Tartini, B. Marcello, Albinoni and Cimarosa, accompanied by the Scottish Ensemble. “The days are long gone when blowing a brass instrument was a male preserve. Even so, the young trumpeter Alison Balsom remains a singular figure.

It’s not that she's long and blonde; it's the roar of her talent that makes her stand out, along with her knack for breaking down barriers and making the trumpet so much more than a toot machine.” The Times “Her playing is breathtaking, first in the bubbling fluency of Vivaldi violin concerto allegros...while her fluent technique elicits some exhilarating tempos.

No less arresting is her creamy tone in slow movements...Listening to it is nothing short of a life-enhancing experience.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ***** “Balsom takes the first movement [of the Vivaldi] at such a lick that it's over before you know it; but the clarity and precision of her articulation make it an exhilarating experience...Her orchestrated version of an Albinoni violin sonata is notable for some nimble playing in the first Allegro.” Classic FM Magazine, December 2010 **** “Balsom, sweetly accompanied by the Scottish Ensemble, glides through the decorative slides with ease.” Financial Times, 23rd October 2010 *** “suave, characterful performances...Wistfulness and exuberance combined come to the fore in the Cimarosa, while Balsom's clear, focused tone irradiates Albinoni's less exciting Oboe Concerto in B flat with a warmth and intensity that is carried over into the penultimate work on the disc, Tartini's D major Trumpet Concerto” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “This is above all a disc of virtuoso brilliance, with the soloist

 performing her pyrotechnics with consummate ease; her tone is bright and open yet possessing a creamy timbre throughout the range...Each of the concertos here presents something to delight the ear.” International Record Review, May 2011 “It's a typically elegant affair: Balsom's bright tone and tight phrasing on the opening Allegro of "Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in A Minor" gives way to more subtle work on the Largo, with a series of delicate, feathery trills...her nimble fingering on the opening section of [the Albinoni] is supplanted by long, poised notes on the Adagio section.

An eloquent performance.” The Independent, 15th October 2010 *** “This cheering disc features the brilliant talent of Alison Balsom and a spruce Scottish Ensemble in six 18th-century concertos...None of the concertos...were originally written for the trumpet. But Balsom’s flawless technique and glorious tone make them sound thoroughly natural.” The Telegraph, 15th October 2010 *** Up to 40% off Warner Classics Kate Royal (soprano), Alison Balsom (trumpet) & Alice Halstead (soprano) Ethic Percussion Orchestra, Tenebrae Choir & Members of Adiemus, Karl Jenkins "As a composer, he recognises no boundaries - musical, commercial, geographical or cultural. His is a way of thinking and composing that is perfectly in tune with the spirit of the times." Classic FM Magazine Karl Jenkins, the classically trained master of global ‘crossover,’ has composed a new work for choir and orchestra, Stella natalis, as a gift to music lovers of all stylistic and spiritual backgrounds for the 2009 holiday season.

Its coupling, Joy to the world, features arrangements by Jenkins of carols from around the globe in keeping with the composer’s inclusive and universal approach to the message of music. The performers represent a mixture of classical and popular artistry. “It has been a privilege,” said Karl Jenkins recently, “to feature the astounding talents of fellow EMI artists Kate Royal [soprano] and Alison Balsom [trumpet] and to introduce BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the year 2008, Alice Halstead. The choir is Tenebrae, whilst as a counterpoint to their ‘classical’ sound, I have revisited my past and re-introduced the ethnic sound of Adiemus, featuring Mary Carewe, who sang on the first Adiemus album Songs of Sanctuary, and Mae McKenna. My orchestration has the usual classical and ethnic percussion mix, the latter played by Jody K Jenkins and Zands.

The orchestra is the Marylebone Camerata, a hand-picked group of the finest young players in London, assembled by cellist Jonathan Byers.” “Stella natalis means ‘star of birth’ or ‘star of origin,’ continues Jenkins, “and the music conveys the Christmas message of peace, goodwill, compassion and a new beginning whilst using a wider palette of inspiration than is usual in such treatments: Zulu text, reference to Hindu gods, as well as the Old Testament, all make an appearance! The libretto, for the most part, is by Carol Barratt together with some established text in Latin and English.” Joy to the world consists of a set of idiosyncratic arrangements by Karl Jenkins to carols from England, Germany, France, Spain, the West Indies and the African-American Go tell it on the mountain. Alison Balsom ( the highly acclaimed trumpeter, is one of music's great ambassadors. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music, at the Paris Conservatoire and with Håkan Hardenberger. While under the aegis of the Young Concert Artists Trust, she caught the eye of EMI Classics with whom she records exclusively.

Alison has also participated in BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme, through which she has performed at the Wigmore Hall and with all of the BBC Orchestras. For EMI, Alison Balsom has recorded a Bach Trumpet and Organ disc, which was enthusiastically received internationally; Caprice, which also won great critical acclaim, and a CD featuring the Haydn and Hummel Trumpet Concertos, which was named among the “24 records of 2008” by The New York Times. Alison Balsom won the Classic FM Listener’s Award at the 2006 Gramophone Awards and was hailed as “Rising Artist of the Year” the following year at the Echo Klassik Awards. In 2009 she became the first Briton ever to be crowned Female Artist of the Year at the Classical BRITs. As a featured performer at the 2009 Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, she played the Haydn Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and David Robertson and works by Gershwin and Piazzola.

“A natural communicator, [endowed with] musicality, a lyric soprano of rare loveliness, a poised and dignified manner and [gorgeous] looks,” (The Sunday Times), Kate Royal signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics in 2006. Since then, the Guildhall and National Opera Studio graduate and winner of Kathleen Ferrier, John Christie and Royal Philharmonic Society awards has recorded two critically acclaimed solo albums: the eponymous Kate Royal and Midsummer Night, an atmospheric recital collection focusing on female characters in 20th century opera and operetta. She has also been featured in albums with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Ian Bostridge and Sir Paul McCartney. Equally at home in opera and recital, classical and ‘crossover,’ Kate has wowed audiences and critics alike with her appearances at Glyndebourne, the Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh Festival and Royal Opera House. Upcoming appearances include the Berlin Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Bavarian Radio under Simon Rattle, Le Concert d’Astrée with Emanuelle Haïm, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Les Musiciens du Louvre.

She has sung Donna Elvira at Glyndebourne, Pamina and Micaëla at the Bavarian State Opera and Pamina and Anne Trulove at the Royal Opera House. ( Soprano Alice Halstead ( a choir girl at St Alphege Church, Solihull and a pupil at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham, won the coveted title of “BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year 2008” award at St. Paul's Cathedral, London. From the age of four she has attended the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire where she studies singing, cello and piano. She is also a member of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain (Training North). Alice has appeared several times on BBC One’s “Songs of Praise” and has featured in many national radio broadcasts including Good Morning Sunday with Aled Jones and Friday Night Is Music Night with the BBC Concert Orchestra on BBC Radio 2, In Tune on BBC Radio 3 and Sunday Worship on BBC Radio 4. The chief librettist for Stella natalis Carol Barratt is a composer, pianist, lyricist and music educator with over 70 publications in print.

She has written text for many works by Karl Jenkins, to whom she has been married for 34 years. Karl Jenkins is one of the most prolific and performed composers in the world today – his anti-war work alone, The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds for the Millennium celebrations and premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April 2000, has been performed nearly four hundred times in recent years. Born in Wales and a graduate of Cardiff University followed by post-graduate studies at London’s Royal College of Music, Jenkins was originally an oboist. It was a passion for jazz – he was a member of the bands Nucleus and Soft Machine – that led him to composition.

Classically trained, but drawing on a diverse range of global influences, his composing style has transcended musical boundaries, including memorable ad jingles for Delta Air Lines, the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society, De Beers diamonds, British Airways and Levi’s Jeans, the global ‘crossover’ phenomenon Adiemus, more ‘classical’ commissions such as Requiem, Stabat Mater, Quirk and The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and television and feature film soundtracks. Recent recordings include Kiri Sings Karl with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; Requiem and Stabat Mater, which was premiered and released in March 2008, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus and the EMO ensemble from Helsinki. The highest placed living composer in Classic FM’s “Hall of Fame,” Karl Jenkins’s recordings have won seventeen gold or platinum disc awards. Jenkins holds Fellowships or Professorships at five universities/conservatoires, including the Royal Academy of Music.

He was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in the 2005 New Years Honours List and a ‘Red f’ from Classic FM for ‘outstanding service to classical music.” He has been a castaway on BBC Radio 3’s Desert Island Discs and featured on ITV’s The South Bank Show. “Karl Jenkins is a rarity among contemporary composers, balancing popularity with innovation.” (The Independent) Up to 40% off Warner Classics Göteborgs Symfoniker , Edward Gardner “The young British trumpeter Alison Balsom is a real star: resplendent and well-varied tone, crisp attack, absolute ease of production throughout the range.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2006 ***** “What comes across is Balsom's sheer exuberance and joy in making music. Be astonished at the variety of moods the trumpet is capable of.” Classic FM Magazine, December 2010 ***** “In the Latin-inspired pieces, Balsom's awareness of the choreographic suggestiveness in the raunchy Piazzolla and smouldering Falla brings exhilarating freedom and colour.

…another infectious performance from a dazzling young British talent in fine form, one whose programming ideas and emerging musical personality go from strength to strength.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards 2006 Up to 40% off Warner Classics Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV1067: Badinerie Mass in B minor, BWV232: Agnus Dei Alison Balsom (trumpet), Colm Carey (organ), Alina Ibragimova (violin), Alistair Ross (harpsichord & chamber organ) & Mark Caudle (viola de gamba) Gramophone described her Bach album as “splendid stuff” and the pieces “showcase Balsom’s phenomenal technique and gleaming expressiveness” “…as a showcase for this young artist's mesmerising virtuosity the disc does its job admirably, and presents some familiar and less familiar Bach in new guises at the same time. The supporting instrumentalists, especially organist Colm Carey, make a sterling contribution...” BBC Music Magazine, February 2006 ***** “A disc of arrangements which is impressive on every level.

Beautifully mellow playing contrasting with virtuosic moments.” Classic FM Magazine, March 2006 ***** “Two transposed movements from BWV1008 and a mischievous solo take on the Badinerie (from BWV1067) showcase Balsom's phenomenal technique and gleaming expressiveness. Period-instrument practitioners Alina Ibragimova, Mark Caudle and Alastair Ross provide superb accompaniment in a charismatic version of the Trio Sonata. A surprisingly diverse range of textures and moods makes this disc a beguiling experience.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2006 BBC Music Magazine interview: Alison Balson | Classical-Music.com Rating: 0 Alison Balsom's new recording is an eclectic mix of works by Satie , Piazzolla, Messiaen , Ravel and more. We catch up with her before her next tour of concerts. How did your latest disc, Paris, evolve? I wanted to collaborate with a non-classical musician and to do something that’s very different from what is expected from a classical trumpet player. Guy Barker is someone I have been a fan of all my musical life.

We got to know each other and found that we had really similar tastes, both in jazz and classical music. We were talking about Gil Evans and Dizzy Gillespie and Clifford Brown as much as we were talking about Stravinsky and Ravel and Messiaen. Even though we come from completely different worlds as trumpet players, we have a real mutual respect for what each other can do and recording together went from there. We recorded the album in a studio, which was quite different from what I’ve been used to in the past. And the fact that Guy and I arranged and orchestrated the whole thing became a common theme of the disc. How did you decide what to include in the programme? I've always had a fascination with Gil Evans and the way he transcribed Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain album. I wanted to explore that idea and I also wanted to record the second movement of the Ravel Piano Concerto just because I love it so much. And, of course, it has jazz influences. Working with Guy and his orchestra I could incorporate jazzy colours without changing much in the lines of the piece itself.

These were the starting points and then we decided to do the shorter pieces, like Satie’s Gnossienne No. 3 and Hungarian-French composer Joseph Kosma’s Les Feuilles mortes (Autumn Leaves). We realised that a Parisian theme had developed organically so we called the album Paris. What does the city mean to you? I studied at the Conservatoire in my third year of Guildhall and it felt like a really important time in my life. It was the first time I thought I could use the trumpet as a way of expressing myself and it felt like doors were open to me for the first time. With this album I didn’t want to make a stereotype of Paris, instead it feels like Paris the way I experienced it. You can see a city in a million different lights and Paris means so many things to different people. That’s why the album is so diverse. What challenges did transcribing works like Ravel's Piano Concerto present? It’s important to leave the nucleus of a work intact. Something like the Ravel Concerto is such a perfectly constructed piece so it doesn’t need someone to come along and change it, rather to colour it differently.

What I play is all taken from Ravel’s original score, but from several different parts, so it’s a totally different challenge to simply playing the melody on a different instrument. There don't seem to be as many solo trumpeters as there are, say, solo violinists or pianists. Why do you think that is? It may be because we don’t have this back-catalogue of limitless masterpieces by the great classical composers like other performers do. Quite a significant part of your career as a trumpet player has to be your ambition and hunger for creating new work and for finding new ways to present the instrument. What format will your Royal Albert Hall Session in October take? It’s going to like a pop concert in that it’s going to be quite theatrical with sound effects, a voiceover, and controlled lighting. We’re using the Albert Hall organ for an amazing piece by Petr Eben called Okna about stained glass windows – it has all these amazing colours that mmediately make you think of the colours of the window. The first half of the concert is about spring, so will have greens and blues and the second half will have an autumnal theme, with much warmer colours – reds and golds – which will be reflected in the music.

The programme itself will include baroque repertoire along with the works from my Paris disc, so at times it will feel like a recital and at others like a jazz club gig. We're also taking the programme on tour, including to Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Cardiff and Bristol. What kind of audience do you expect to attract on the tour? I often have an eclectic audience and I’m really happy about that. We’re doing an education programme before the performance so I expect some of those kids will be able to come and bring their families. So there will be young people and people who don't know that much about classical music, as well as more seasoned concert goers. Something I really care about is engaging younger people though. A trumpet isn’t the most conventional classical instrument and, for me, reaching as diverse and broad an audience as possible is really important. Albert Sessions: An Evening with Alison Balsom takes place on October 13 2014. Visit Alison Balsom is on tour from 30 September to 14 October 2014. Click here for more information Watch Balsom performing Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No.

3 and Piazzolla's Café with Miloš Karadaglić below Trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsom wins top prize for classical musician | PBS NewsHour Trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsom wins top prize for classical musician BY News Desk September 17, 2013 at 5:46 PM EST Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images. English trumpet player Alison Balsom , 34, accepted one of classical music’s top awards for a musician , Gramaphone’s Artist of the Year Award. The first British woman to win the award was honored Tuesday evening in London, along with other winners. “I am enjoying making music more than ever at the moment and to be praised for it by the Gramophone Classical Music Awards and by everyone who kindly voted for me is simply more than I could ask for,” Balsom said. If you haven’t heard Balsom play, enjoy this performance from the last night of the 2009 BBC Proms . Video: BBC Proms 2009/ Youtube channel RupertJones. Alison Balsom (trumpet) performs “Libertango,” composed by Astor Piazzolla (arr.

Julian Milone), at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Are you aware of our comment policy? PBS NewsHour allows open commenting for all registered users, and encourages discussion amongst you, our audience. However, if a commenter violates our terms of use or abuses the commenting forum, their comment may go into moderation or be removed entirely. We reserve the right to remove posts that do not follow these basic guidelines: comments must be relevant to the topic of the post; may not include profanity, personal attacks or hate speech; may not promote a business or raise money; may not be spam. Anything you post should be your own work. The PBS NewsHour reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the comments or emails that we receive. By submitting comments, you agree to the PBS Terms of Use and Privacy Policy , which include more details. READ THIS NEXT Italian Concertos / Alison Balsom - Warner Classics: 5099945609428 | Buy from ArkivMusic Italian Concertos / Alison Balsom SEE, HEAR & LEARN MORE!

Notes & Editorial Reviews Works on This Recording Customer Reviews Notes and Editorial Reviews "Occasionally a player comes along who turns all the preconceived ideas about their instrument on their head, and reinvents the repertoire. ï¿½ Alison Balsom is a virtuoso player and a natural, gifted communicator, but what really comes across is her sheer exuberance and joy in making music." Classic FM Magazine ?Following the popular and critical international success of her Haydn and Hummel concertos recording (ï¿½Poetic renditions ï¿½ performed with a clear, soaring tone, virtuosic technique and elegant phrasing.ï¿½ -The New York Times), Alison Balsom has recorded a programme of Italian Baroque concertos. Already released in Germany in January, the album has quickly garnered criticsï¿½ praise: ï¿½The fast Read more movements are played with sparkling ease and technical brilliance.

The slow movement [Balsom] forms delicately, tenderly, yet without denying sheï¿½s playing a brass instrument.ï¿½ - MDR Figaro English trumpeter Alison Balsomï¿½s personal charms may have besotted the media, but there is no doubt that she can make her instrument sing. The thirty-two-year-oldï¿½s EMI discography includes the imaginative transcriptions album ï¿½Caprice,ï¿½ which features Balsom making Debussyï¿½s Syrinx sound like an exotic aria from a lost opera. After lovely Bach arrangements and an obligatory Haydn/Hummel concerto disc, it would have been good to see Balsom record a contemporary challenge ï¿½ such as James Macmillan's Epiclesis, which she has performed live. But what EMI gives us is an FM-ready set of concertos by Vivaldi, Albinoni, Tartini, Marcello and Cimarosa, most adapted from originals for violin or oboe. If the dulcet strings sound a shade old-fashioned, Balsomï¿½s sheer beauty of sound mutes criticism.

Her round, warm tone makes the exquisitely melodic Largo of Vivaldiï¿½s A minor concerto RV 356 flow and glow like liquid amber; the arrangement of a Sonata de Chiesa in D minor by Albinoni is another highlight, particularly with her cantabile phrasing in the dark-hued opening Grave. Veteran trumpet virtuoso John Wallace called it when he said that his former student can ï¿½draw the sweetest sounds out of the trumpet to soothe even the most savage beast.ï¿½ ï¿½ Bradley Bambarger, Listen Alison Balsom: The top brass | Music | The Guardian Classical music Alison Balsom: The top brass Too many ballgowns, and not enough Beethoven. Alison Balsom talks to Erica Jeal about life as a classical trumpeter 'My challenge is to get the serious stuff done' ... classical trumpeter Alison Balsom.

Photograph: David Corio/Getty Images Share on Messenger Close 'Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert …" Trumpeter Alison Balsom sighs as she reels off the names – and in that sigh lies the reason why the trumpet is an unlikely Cinderella on the classical concert podium. "How amazing it would be to have music by these composers!" The lack of much in the way of classical music to play is the problem with the classical trumpet – and the reason why, as a classical soloist, Balsom is one of a relatively rare breed. By the time the modern trumpet had been perfected – with valves enabling the player to produce every note of the chromatic scale, perfectly in tune – most of the composers who wrote the kind of concertos that make pianists' and violinists' careers were dead. There is no great romantic warhorse by Tchaikovsky, Bruch or Mendelssohn, no trumpeter equivalent of Liszt or Paganini to have lent the instrument a patina of romantic mystery. What, then, is to be done with the trumpet as a serious solo instrument? Balsom isn't sure she has the answer, but she is the UK's best hope of raising its profile.

And, let's get this over with: that's despite – or perhaps in part because of – her gender. When during the World Cup the Daily Mail wanted a trumpeter to demonstrate how to get more than one note out of a vuvuzela, it was Balsom they called on. Within her field she stands out simply because, according to stereotype, trumpeters are loud, beer-sodden and male. Not, however, in Balsom's own experience, from her childhood in the youth music groups of Hertfordshire onwards. "I played in a brass band since I first started, when I was seven, and there were loads of girls. Some of my best friends from that time are now in principal positions in the London orchestras." Until quite recently that included Balsom herself, who reluctantly left the London Chamber Orchestra as her solo career took off.

Now she is on to her fifth disc for EMI: 18th-century concertos by Vivaldi, Albinoni and other Italians, all originally written for oboe or violin, adapted by Balsom herself, mostly to accommodate the different capabilities of a violinist's bow and a trumpeter's lip: "You can't play continuously for several minutes the way a violinist can." She has already recorded the two acknowledged gems of the classical trumpet repertoire, the concertos by Haydn and Hummel – and that disc was one of the New York Times's picks of 2008. In concert, however, she just as often finds herself asked to play four-minute wonders. Balsom's previous album, Caprice, is a whole programme of these, and good listening it makes, too, thanks largely to some whirlwind display pieces by composers such as Astor Piazzolla. "His Libertango is the perfect encore. I've played it hundreds of times.

But my challenge is to get the serious stuff done." In that mission she is following the Swedish virtuoso Hakan Hardenberger, who was her inspiration for wanting to become a soloist when, aged nine, she first heard him in concert, playing the Hummel concerto at the Barbican. "I remember every moment of the day, even that we stopped at KFC on the way! It wasn't really about the fact that he played the trumpet, it was just that it was a wonderful performance. So when I found myself at the Barbican a couple of years ago playing the Hummel, I was so happy. It was a really special feeling." Balsom would go on to become one of Hardenberger's students, and some of his zeal for commissioning new work seems to have rubbed off. She's especially enthusiastic about British composers and is due to premiere Seraph, a new work by James MacMillan, with the Scottish Ensemble next February. She also talks of her affinity with "people like Oliver Knussen, Colin Matthews, Huw Watkins, Mark-Anthony Turnage. They understand the instrument and its subtleties. All the trumpet players today – it's almost as if we all play different instruments.

A composer would create something quite different for me than for Hardenberger. That's why it's incredibly exciting to work with the composer. There's not that many of us, and it feels like treading a path that's never been trod." In fact, much of her solo career has felt that way. "I remember at the beginning, that was the biggest challenge: what do I do now? My teacher was wonderful, but he was an orchestral trumpeter, and he said he couldn't advise me. So it was a case of finding the way for myself." First, she auditioned for support from the Young Concert Artists Trust. "They represented me for three years, watching over me before I went out into the big bad commercial world, and that's when I learned what was going to work and what wasn't. I started to work out how I could find a way of playing the trumpet as a solo instrument, where the audience were interested and I felt there was integrity in what I was doing." That integrity is more important to Balsom than some might think, clocking her gala appearances and her successes at the commercial back-scratch that is the Classical Brits (she was 2009's Female Artist of the Year).

"I find it kind of amusing that people think I do crossover, because I've never done any of that music. Lots of people might buy an album because they heard it on Classic FM, but that doesn't make it crossover. It does, as far as I'm concerned, do exactly what I was trying to do – which is to popularise the instrument without ever dumbing down. Even if I'm playing a very light gala concert, I'll still play a whole concerto rather than a single movement, and I'll play it exactly the way I would if I was playing with the Concertgebouw. But I suppose people think I do crossover just because there's a glamorous photoshoot." In which case, why not ditch the ballgowns on the album covers? For our interview, Balsom is in leggings and jumper, casual but immaculate: how about doing the CD covers that way? "I would love to. But unfortunately I seem to be a small pawn in this big chess game where there are albums to sell. I quite often ask them to please just send trouser suits [to wear for a shoot], and I'll turn up and there'll be 25 red Dynasty-style ballgowns on the rack.

But you've got to choose your battles, particularly when your time is important." Since earlier this year, that time has been more precious than ever: in spring Balsom gave birth to her first child, Charlie. Has motherhood changed how she sees her career? "Not too much. Even before, I was thinking I don't want to be orbiting the globe for the sake of it. I'm lucky that with the work I do, there is lots of preparation at home. Though I really underestimated that, with the baby – I thought I could practise while he's asleep, but I need to play loud." Charlie's father is Edward Gardner, music director of English National Opera; he and Balsom met while working with the Colorado Symphony a few years ago. It should be a PR dream, but the pair are resisting attempts to turn them into a golden couple of classical music. "We don't have any plans to work together in the future, and that's good – if the other is free they can come along and support." Or babysit, perhaps.

But for now, Charlie is playing with his grandmother, Gardner is rehearsing at ENO, and Balsom is off to sort out her visa for a country where she can garner gala-style audience enthusiasm for serious classical repertoire, and nobody will cry crossover: Brazil. "It's lovely playing to an audience who screams like it's a pop concert when you play a Haydn concerto!" Alison Balsom: Italian Concertos is released by EMI on 18 October. Alison Balsom and Trevor Pinnock, interview - Telegraph Classical Music Alison Balsom and Trevor Pinnock, interview For the virtuoso trumpeter Alison Balsom it was a dream to work with Trevor Pinnock on her new album, and the musical director agrees they are 'kindred spirits’. They tell Adam Sweeting why. Alison Balsom and Trevor Pinnock have colaborated on Balsom's new album Sound The Trumpet. Photo: Andrew Crowley By Adam Sweeting 7:00AM BST 18 Oct 2012 How should the thoroughly modern musician address the reputation for fuddy-duddiness that dogs classical music?

It’s a problem that trumpeter Alison Balsom has given plenty of thought to, and she has come up with several strategies. For instance, unlike some of her contemporaries, she positively embraces the glare of publicity. “The marketing part of it is to play on a breakfast TV show, but when I do it I try to do it to the highest possible artistic level,” she explains, over afternoon tea at the fashionable Charlotte Street Hotel. “Viewers might never come to my concerts but they might be watching TV, and they might think: 'I didn’t expect that but it sounds great.’ The important thing is that you never compromise the quality of the music-making.” Finding innovative ways to expand the repertoire of her instrument is another priority, since heavy-calibre material for a virtuoso trumpeter is fairly scarce. “My long-term masterplan is to try to prove that the trumpet is as valid an artistic vehicle as the violin or the piano, even though we’re held back by limited repertoire,” she points out.

“As a musician I want to be challenged in lots of different ways, so I’m trying to be as varied as possible for my own sanity.” Suiting the action to the word, in January this year she released the album Seraph, which included modern trumpet concertos by James MacMillan and Alexander Arutiunian. Now, on her latest disc, Sound the Trumpet, Balsom has found a new angle from which to throw light on music from the Baroque era. It’s a freshly arranged and selected group of pieces by Purcell and Handel, on which she has collaborated with the period-performance maestro Trevor Pinnock, and it breaks new ground by bringing these pieces into the orbit of the trumpet. Related Articles The net widens for hit-maker Daryl Hall 11 Jul 2012 According to Pinnock: “As far as getting me to do a trumpet disc is concerned, I’m a soft touch really. My grandfather used to play the euphonium in the Canterbury Silver Band, so I’m sure there’s some brass blood in me. One of the things I love about Alison’s playing is the vocal quality she gives the instrument, as well as the heroic quality.

She decided we should make arrangements of pieces which weren’t trumpet literature, to broaden the spectrum of it and give it those qualities. I was dubious about that at first, but by the time we had our second meeting I was sold.” There was a mysterious air of predestination hovering over the Balsom-Pinnock partnership. Balsom has a vivid memory of listening to Pinnock’s recording of Bach’s fifth Brandenburg concerto when she was about 10, and feeling “completely mesmerised by it. I felt I’d discovered classical music for myself, and it compelled me into a great love for it for the rest of my life.” Looking slightly bashful, Pinnock repays the compliment. “We’re very much kindred spirits, and you find with a certain number of musicians you can have this special relationship. I think it helped make the recording so harmonious and exciting.” After much sifting and experimenting, the duo arrived at an ingeniously wrought programme containing extracts from Handel’s Water Music and his Oboe Concerto No 1 reworked for trumpet.

Slivers from Handel’s operas Amadigi di Gaula and Atalanta are joined by “Sound the Trumpet” from Purcell’s Come, Ye Sons Of Art, contrasting with larger-scale suites from Purcell’s “semi-operas” (meaning an opera in which the leading characters mostly don’t sing) King Arthur and The Fairy Queen. Crucial to the disc’s musical character is the fact that Balsom recorded her parts using the valveless Baroque “natural” trumpet, which is capable of playing only a limited number of notes – just the notes in the harmonic series – in a single key. “If you want to change the key, you have to take the trumpet apart, it’s like bathroom plumbing using longer and shorter pieces,” she reveals. “It doesn’t have any valves, so that’s a big technical hurdle, but musically it’s capable of many different colours. It can be almost like a human voice, and can also give a thrilling, cutting, powerful sound.

We included a couple of pieces on the B-flat trumpet, which is known as the “catastrophone”, because it’s a really risky instrument but it has this incredible depth and darkness.” One piece she and Pinnock are especially proud of is the “Plaint” from The Fairy Queen, which not only features a heart-rending performance by soprano Lucy Crowe, but also posed a specific technical challenge for Balsom. The instrumental part was originally intended for violin or oboe, but (Pinnock explains) “it occurred to me that with Alison’s sound quality and very vocal tone this could work very well, as long as we changed certain notes that wouldn’t be possible for the natural trumpet. When we played it through I knew it was going to work, and it’s just beautiful.” However, to achieve that result, Balsom had to find a plausible way to bend a D down to a C sharp. “That note was vital to making the piece work, but it’s a fake note that doesn’t actually exist on the trumpet,” she points out. “You have to bend it with your 'embouchure’ muscles to a place that isn’t really there.

Luckily I succeeded, and I think it almost sounds better than a real note because it has this airy, haunting quality.” Looking ahead, Pinnock and Balsom propose to use the Sound the Trumpet disc as a platform for an innovative kind of live performance. They’re working on plans for a series of shows at London’s Globe Theatre next summer, which will attempt to cut loose from the somewhat ossified conventions of the classical concert hall. “There will be actors, and it will be a spectacle,” says Balsom. “In some ways it will be similar to Purcell’s semi-operas, which incorporated not only his wonderful music but dancing, singing, acting – even fireworks, if I had my way. The Globe is a great acoustic for the trumpet – no other classical instrument can really work in the open air because of the weather. It’s a new way of presenting music, because it can seem a bit outdated to be performing on the stage and pretending the audience aren’t there.” 'Sound the Trumpet – Royal Music of Purcell and Handel’ is out now on EMI Classics.

Alison Balsom performs at Cambridge Music Festival (01223 357 851) on Nov 13 The classical star landing a blow for brass | The Independent The classical star landing a blow for brass Thanks to the glamorous Alison Balsom, trumpet playing is shedding its stereotype as a fusty male domain Sunday 29 May 2011 23:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Culture Dressed by Armani and dripping with diamonds, Alison Balsom sizzled with her trumpet across this year's Classic Brit Awards and on the ITV broadcast of the ceremony last night where she was named its Female Artist of the Year for her album of Italian Concertos. Balsom, 32, is hardly a typical trumpet virtuoso – it's an instrument more often associated with lads down the pub after band practice. But her mixture of glamour, charisma and unaffected, genuine-spirited musicianship has won the public's heart and in the process begun to transform the image of the trumpet itself.

Broadening her instrument's appeal beyond its macho associations is part of her mission, Balsom affirms, while scooping her 14-month-old son, Charlie, safely away from the coffee machine (she separated from Charlie's father, the conductor Edward Gardner, a few months ago). "I don't think I've changed the trumpet's stereotype singlehandedly, but I feel proud that it is changing," she says. "At my concerts I often meet little girls of eight or nine whose parents say they started playing the trumpet because they heard one of my CDs. As many girls as boys love the trumpet when they're very young – but later grown-ups put the stereotypes on them and it can deter them. It's a shame, because the trumpet is very extrovert and very physical, and so are many girls." Balsom comes from Royston, Hertfordshire, where she says she was lucky to attend "a tiny primary school in which I had the chance to play lots of different instruments.

I just fell in love with the trumpet." As part of a town centre redevelopment scheme, Royston is about to put up a statue of her, much to her astonishment: "I was up against King James I and the town cryer!" Her first big break was winning the brass section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1998. "That was absolutely terrifying," she laughs, "and showed me what it would be like to be a soloist rather than an orchestral player." It was only when she went to study at the Paris Conservatoire, though, that her eyes were opened to what hard work it would be. "The French training treats the trumpet as a solo instrument much more seriously than the UK's does. My lessons in Paris were brutal. They lasted for six hours, you had to play in front of all the other students, and you knew they were hoping you'd just drop dead..." The violinist virtuoso Maxim Vengerov – an ex-boyfriend of hers – is another influence: "He's an extraordinary artist.

Every time I go on stage I think about his musical persona and try to put something of that into my playing." The glamorous images on her CD covers, though, are only part of the picture. Her next recording will be altogether grittier, including trumpet concertos from 1950 to the present day by Jolivet, Arutiunyan, Zimmermann and, not least, James MacMillan – the world premiere of his new Trumpet Concerto. The opposite end of the spectrum from the Classic Brits? "This is what I do every day," Balsom declares. "I love to show the versatility of the instrument: we don't have as big a repertoire as other instruments, but we do have as wide a scope." Balsom's own scope extends to being a patron of the new Mayor's Fund that Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has launched to provide music scholarships for hundreds of London schoolchildren. It's a cause about which she is absolutely passionate. "Since I've had Charlie it's become even clearer to me that even very young children have an instinctive response to music," she says. "It's like a fast track into their brains. It's so obvious. How can we ignore that?

To lose that connection would be a dangerous thing for our culture." Helpfully, Charlie toddles by, singing to himself. It will take figureheads like Balsom to bring the cause to the fore – and at least she is there to try. "I want to get that message across," she says. "But often people are more interested in the Armani dresses and the diamonds. And the fact that I'm a female trumpet player." 'Italian Concertos' is out now on EMI Classics More about: Alison Balsom - Google+ Alison Balsom Hi Guys, check out my new album sampler if you've not already seen it!﻿ Read moreShow less très grande trompettiste netteté dans le son aucune erreur﻿ Read moreShow less · Translate Story Tagline "Alison Balsom is a virtuoso player and a natural, gifted communicator, but what really comes across is her sheer exuberance and joy in making music." Classic FM Magazine Introduction "She makes the trumpet sing with an irresistible exuberance and eloquence." Richard Morrison, The Times, September 2008 Alison Balsom has cemented an international reputation as one of classical music’s great ambassadors.

She has been honoured with numerous awards by Classic FM, Gramophone and Echo Klassik and in 2009 she became the first ever Briton to be crowned “Female Artist of the Year” at the Classical BRITs. In September 2009 Alison headlined classical music’s most celebrated concert – The Last Night of the BBC Proms – which reached its biggest ever global audience of an estimated 150 million. Recent and upcoming highlights include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. Alison also looks forward to embarking on major international tours with I Musici di Roma, the Scottish Ensemble and Alison’s own Balsom Ensemble in 10/11 and beyond. While represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust, Alison caught the ear of EMI Classics with whom she records exclusively. Her internationally celebrated Bach Trumpet and Organ disc of 2005 was quickly followed by the Caprice album which won her further critical acclaim.

Her third album, featuring the great pillars of the trumpet repertoire, the concertos of Haydn and Hummel, firmly established her as the world's leading trumpeter. Her eagerly awaited follow up album which was released in autumn 2010 to great critical acclaim includes a selection of Italian Baroque Concertos Under the auspices of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, Alison performed at the Wigmore Hall and with all of the BBC orchestras. Alison studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, and with Håkan Hardenberger. She was previously a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Alison was a concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musician competition in 1998 and received the Feeling Musique Prize for quality of sound in the 4th Maurice André International Trumpet Competition. She is Visiting Professor of Trumpet to the Guildhall School of Music. Alison performs a wide range of recital and concerto repertoire, from Albinoni to Zimmermann and performs on both modern and baroque trumpets. Basic Information

Question: Classical musician Alison Balsom is a virtuoso player of which instrument?
Answer: Trumpet