Page 429 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

different way now. The saxophone feels like an instrument that has the potential to sit in so
many different places and to explore so many new possibilities. There is so much music still
to be made for it I think, because it’s such a young instrument and has so many places to
go.”

These new ways of experiencing music, primarily through digital platforms, are at the heart
of This Classical Life, her successful weekly show on BBC Radio 3. It appeals to a wide range
of listeners, and not just the new technology recruits – from experience, much older
gramophone lovers are enjoying her open and diverse approach to music, casting off the
genre stereotypes. “There has been a big range in the response I have had, with all age
groups from primary school children to 90-year-olds. I think the most magical thing about
music is the sense of discovery, and knowing that you can never listen to all the music in the
world. There is always something to discover. Regardless of what age you are, that never
leaves you, the idea of hearing new sounds, stories and different people!”

These principles are at the heart of her approach, both as a performer and a presenter. “I
think listening to new music and finding new artists that they love brings people so much
joy. When you find somebody new you can listen to all their music and find out who they
are, and what they’re like. It’s one of the greatest things to discover.”

Has the lockdown period given her a greater appreciation of music? “It’s been such a
strange time, but it has made me realise even more that I don’t go a single day without
putting on some kind of music. It can completely change the surroundings, it can transform
your mood, it can make you think a different way, and it can really transform a day. You can
be locked down like we have been inside our houses, but listen to music and suddenly
you’re in a completely different country, thinking completely different thoughts, and you’re
with someone else. It’s an amazing thing.”

Gillam has done a good deal of work over Zoom in the last few months, setting up the hugely
successful Virtual Scratch Orchestra during lockdown. It brought musicians of all abilities
together for the closest experience to live performance they could achieve in isolated