London-based Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham captured the hearts and interest of music lovers across Britain with his performances in the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition. As a finalist he performed Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Hallé and conductor Sir Mark Elder in the Leeds Town Hall.
Elder commented about Jayson’s playing: “He makes a very strong, firm sound, different from all the others [the other finalists]. He plays Beethoven in a very open, honest, secure way – with a sort of ‘glow’… Always a lovely sound – gorgeous.”
2012 also saw Jayson being named Commonwealth Musician of the Year and Gold Medal winner of the Royal Over-Seas League’s 60th Annual Music Competition. In 2013 Jayson was a semi-finalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he made his debut with the esteemed Brentano Quartet.
A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where he studied with Leah Horwitz, Jayson relocated to London in 2007 to pursue a Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton. He has performed in many London venues, including the Royal Festival Hall (soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra), Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. John’s Smith Square and King’s Place.
European performance highlights include concertos in Mannheim and Bamberg (Germany) with the Queensland Youth Symphony; recitals in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Rome, Verona, Warsaw, Deia (Majorca); and chamber music at the Linari Classic Festival (Tuscany). In Asia Jayson has performed in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Wuhan (China). He made his New York debut in 2010 at Steinway Hall.
In Australia Jayson has appeared as soloist with the Sydney Sinfonia, Southbank Sinfonia (Melbourne), Queensland Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony and Queensland Youth Symphony. In March 2014 he will make his debut with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
