Alison Balsom

"Incredible sensitivity is Balsom’s secret. In her hands, the trumpet rivals the human voice for expressivity and tonal colouring."
St. Petersburg Times

A highly acclaimed artist, Alison was named “Best Young British Performer” at the 2006 Classical Brit Awards and was honoured with the “Classic FM Listener’s Award” at the September 2006 Gramophone Awards. The Echo Klassik Awards recently hailed Alison “Rising Artist of the Year 2007”.

Whilst represented by the Young Artists Concert Trust, Alison caught the ear of EMI Classics, for whom she now records exclusively. Her début CD was released in 2002, followed by her internationally acclaimed CD Bach: Trumpet and Organ in 2005. Her latest CD Caprice was critically acclaimed.

Under the auspices of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists Scheme, of which she was a member until recently, Alison has given concerts at the Wigmore Hall, and with all of the BBC orchestras. The summer of 2006 saw Alison take part in the BBC’s celebrated ‘Last Night of the Proms’ in London.

Performances in 2006/07 included débuts with the Colorado and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras as well as performances with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Orchestre National de Belgique, Athens Camerata, English Chamber Orchestra and an appearance at London’s Mostly Mozart Festival with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. A trumpet concerto by Joby Talbot, commissioned especially for Alison by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Turku Philharmonic and Munich Chamber orchestras, was premiered in 2006/07.

In May 2007, Alison made her New York début with further appearances at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Prague Spring Festival and Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. This season’s concerto highlights include performances with the LA Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Camerata Salzburg and Orchestre de Paris.

Alison studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music, the Paris Conservatory, and with Håkan Hardenberger. She was previously a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Britain. Alison was a concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musicians Competition in 1998 and received the “Feeling Musique Prize” for quality of sound in the 4th Maurice André International Trumpet Competition. She was recently appointed 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.