Gone with the woodwind

High-flying saxophonist Jess Gillam meets the NZSO.

- RUSSELL BAILLIE

Jess Gillam delivers a hearty laugh when asked whether, by travelling around the world to play saxophone with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, she finally feels she might be achieving something in her career.

After all, she's only 27. True, she was made an MBE at 23, and yes, she was the woodwind winner of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year in 2016. She's had only the two - out of two - albums top the UK classical charts, having become the first saxophonist to sign to Decca Classics. Those records had music ranging from Shostakovich, Michael Nyman and Max Richter to Björk, David Bowie, Kate Bush and Thom Yorke.

Oh, and as a side gig, she’s a presenter on BBC Radio 3, where she was the youngest host ever appointed to the highbrow channel. Her Saturday show, This Classical Life, is now in its seventh season. The rest of her CV goes on for several days and involves everyone from Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra to actual symphonia from the UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, South Korea, Australia and the United States.

And now, at last, Aotearoa. Her chuckle at the Listener's ribbing about her over-achievements on a video call comes with a beaming smile and an accent Kiwis would hear as “northern”. It must stand out on Radio 3, in the same way her soprano saxophone does among the wind instruments in an orchestra.