Jess Gillam is hailed as one of the leading figures of the saxophone. With her electrifyingly captivating performances, vibrant stage presence and »unique personality« (The Times), Jess Gillam has been invited to perform on the world’s great stages since becoming the youngest soloist to appear on The Last Night of the Proms. The young British player is passionate about expanding the saxophone repertoire, commissioning works specifically for this purpose and performing throughout Europe, the USA and beyond with renowned orchestras such as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the London and Royal Liverpool Philharmonics and the Münchner Philharmoniker, to name but a few. She also appears weekly on BBC Radio 3 with her award-winning programme ›This Classical Life‹.

In 2019, this energetic musician founded her own band, the Jess Gillam Ensemble, which is rooted in classical music but draws inspiration from very different musical worlds. For her outstanding artistic achievements, Jess Gilliam has already been honoured with a Classic BRIT Award and was awarded an MBE (The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021. Jess Gillam is an exclusive artist with Decca Classics, the first and only saxophonist to be signed to this major label.

The conductor Giuseppe Mengoli has the »ability … to inspire through his musical language which speaks directly to the hearts of all«, says the Bamberg Symphoniker’s Chief Conductor Jakub Hrůša about his young Italian colleague. Mengoli’s successful performance in Bamberg in 2023 not only led to further collaboration with the orchestra, but also to an acclaimed concert with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Bregenz Festival. Last season, Giuseppe Mengoli also made his debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, the Opéra Marseille, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the SWR Symphonie Orchester. Other highlights of the 2024/2025 season include debuts with Philzuid, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxemburg, the Dresdner Philharmonie and the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

This multi-instrumentalist made his conducting debut in 2018 with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in Bad Schandau, where he also held the position of Leader. He has played tutti violin in orchestras such as the Konzerthaus Orchester and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Giuseppe Mengoli graduated with honours in violin and chamber music and has won prizes at several international competitions. He also studied percussion, piano, trumpet and jazz. In addition, he is a composer and arranger and is currently completing a master’s degree in orchestral conducting in Weimar.