Page 34 - Alison Balsom Quiet City FULL BOOK

Alison Balsom: 11 Important Dates in Her Life

• 1991: Began her studies at the Guildhall School of Music
& Drama, and subsequently at the Royal Scottish
Academy of Music and at the Conservatoire de Paris with

Håkan Hardenberger.
• 1998: Alison reached the concerto final of the BBC Young

Musician of the Year, returning as a presenter in 2014 and
2016.
• 2001: Shortly before Alison graduated from Guildhall, she

became the first brass player to be taken on by the Young
Concert Artists’ Trust and joined BBC Radio 3’s New

Generation Artists scheme.
• 2002: Released her debut album, Music for Trumpet and

Organ (EMI Classics), followed by her internationally
acclaimed disc, Bach Works for Trumpet (Warner Classics,

2005).
• 2009: She performed as a soloist at the Last Night of the
Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

• 2012: Alison marked 10 years in the classical music
industry by heading back into the studio, to record her

10-year compilation album, The Sound of Alison
Balsom (2013).

• 2013: Made her radio presenting debut on Classic FM with
Lucy Coward, and took to the stage at

the Latitude Festival for the Sunday afternoon slot.
Besides, Alison was awarded Artist of the Year at
the Gramophone Awards and the PPL Classical Award by

musical charity Nordoff Robbins (she also holds
three Classic BRIT Awards — 2006, 2009, 2011 — and three

German Echo Awards — 2007, 2009, 2012).
• 2015: Passionate about pushing the boundaries of her

instrument, Alison has had numerous concertos written
for and commissioned by her. She gave the world

premiere of Guy Barker’s Lanterne of Light at the 2015
BBC Proms. But she also commissioned and performed