Alison Balsom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alison Balsom
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Balsom recording at Abbey Road in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alison Louise Balsom |
| Born | 7 October 1978 Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, educator |
| Instruments | Trumpet |
| Years active | 2001–present |
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Alison Louise Balsom, also known as Lady Mendes, is a famous English trumpet player. She was born on October 7, 1978. Alison is not just a soloist; she also arranges music, produces it, and teaches others.
She has won many important awards for her music. In 2013, she was named Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Awards. She has also won three Classic BRIT Awards and three German Echo Awards. In 2009, she was a special soloist at the BBC Last Night of the Proms, which is a very big music event. Alison was also the artistic director for the Cheltenham Music Festival in 2019.
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Alison Balsom's Early Life and School
Alison Balsom was born in Hitchin, England, on October 7, 1978. She started playing the trumpet when she was just seven years old. She went to Tannery Drift First School in Royston.
Later, she attended Greneway Middle School and Meridian School. During these years, she also played in the Royston Town Band from ages 8 to 15. After that, she studied at Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.
From ages 15 to 18, Alison played in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She then went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She graduated in 2001 with top honors. She also studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and in Paris with a famous trumpet player named Håkan Hardenberger.
Alison Balsom's Music Career
Alison Balsom became a professional classical trumpet player in 2001. She was part of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists program. This program helped her perform many major trumpet concertos with BBC Orchestras.
Her first album came out in 2002 with EMI Classics. In 2005, she released her second album, "Bach Works for Trumpet." In 2006, she won the 'Young British Classical Performer' award at the Classical BRIT Awards. She also won the 'Classic FM Listeners' Choice Award'. She was named 'Female Artist of the Year' at the Classical BRIT Awards in both 2009 and 2011.
Her third album, "Caprice," was released in 2006. Her "Italian Concertos" album was even listed as one of the New York Times' best albums of the year.
In 2009, Alison was a soloist at the Last Night of the Proms. She performed Haydn's Trumpet Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She also played a jazz version of "They Can't Take That Away from Me" with singer Sarah Connolly.
Alison worked with playwright Samuel Adamson to create a play called "Gabriel." This play used music by Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. She performed it with actors and The English Concert at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013.
Alison Balsom was the main trumpet player for the London Chamber Orchestra. She mainly uses a special Bach C trumpet. She also loves playing the natural trumpet, which is an older type of trumpet. She said she fell in love with it because it helps understand Baroque music better.
She is a Visiting Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Alison has performed new music pieces for trumpet and orchestra. These include Qigang Chen's "Joie éternelle" at the BBC Proms in 2014 and Guy Barker's "Lanterne of Light" trumpet concerto at the BBC Proms in 2015. She has performed at the Proms for 14 years. She has also played at other festivals like the iTunes Festival and Latitude Festival.
In 2014, Alison was one of 27 artists chosen for a special BBC Music broadcast. She joined famous musicians like Stevie Wonder and Elton John. They performed a cover of the Beach Boys' song "God Only Knows." This was a big event because it brought together artists from different music labels.
In 2015, she was a guest on the BBC Radio 4 show "Desert Island Discs." Her favorite music piece was Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. Her favorite book was "The Complete Scores of Bach," and her luxury item was a trumpet.
Television Presenting
In 2014, Alison Balsom became a presenter for the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. She presented the final rounds and semi-final with Miloš Karadaglić. In 2016, she co-presented the show with Clemency Burton-Hill.
Festival Director Role
Alison Balsom became the President of the Deal Festival in 2015. She was also the artistic director of the Cheltenham Music Festival in 2019. She stepped down from this role in July 2019 to focus more on performing and recording her music.
Awards and Honors
Alison Balsom has received many honors for her contributions to music. In 2016, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This is a special award from the Queen of England.
She has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Leicester and Anglia Ruskin University. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Personal Life
Alison Balsom has a son with conductor Edward Gardner. In 2017, she married film director Sam Mendes. Their daughter was born in September 2017.
Alison Balsom's Albums
- Music for Trumpet and Organ (EMI Classics Debut, 2002)
- The Fam'd Italian Masters (Hyperion, 2003) - With Crispian Steele-Perkins
- Bach works for Trumpet (EMI Classics, 2005)
- Caprice (EMI Classics, 2006)
- Haydn and Hummel Trumpet Concertos (EMI Classics, 2008)
- Italian Concertos (EMI Classics, 2010)
- Haydn and Hummel concertos / Albinoni's Oboe Concerto Op. 9 No. 2, arranged for trumpet / Vivaldi's Violin Concerto Op. 3 No. 9, arranged for trumpet and instrumental trio (BBC Music Magazine, 2010)
- Seraph: Trumpet Concertos by Arutiunian, MacMillan, and Zimmerman (EMI Classics, 2012)
- Alison Balsom (EMI Classics, 2012)
- Sound the Trumpet: Royal Music of Purcell and Handel, also known as; Kings & Queens (EMI Classics, 2012), and Sound the Trumpet-Gabriel Edition (Warner Classics, 2013)
- Paris (Warner Classics, 2014)
- Légende (Warner Classics, 2016)
- Jubilo (Warner Classics, 2016) - A Christmas album with concertos by Fasch, Bach, Torelli and Corelli
- Royal Fireworks (Warner Classics, 2019)
- Magic Trumpet (Warner Classics, 2020)
- Quiet City (Warner Classics, 2022)
- Baroque Concertos (Warner Classics, 2024)
Awards and Recognitions
- Artist of the Year, Gramophone Classical Music Awards, 2013
- Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Award, 2014
- Best Female Artist, Classical BRIT Awards, 2009, 2011
- Classic FM Listeners' Choice Award, Classic FM Gramophone Award 2006
- Young British Performer, Classical BRIT Awards, 2006
- Feeling Musique Prize for sound quality in the 4th Maurice André International Trumpet Competition
- Concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musicians Competition, 1998
Equipment
Alison Balsom uses several types of trumpets made by Schilke. These include the E3L E-flat/D trumpet, E3L-4 E-flat trumpet, G1L G/F trumpet, P7-4 B-flat/A piccolo trumpet, and S22CHD C trumpet. For her mouthpiece, she uses a Schilke 6A4a.
