Ebullient and energetic, Jess Gillam was never going to let anything as trivial as a global pandemic stop her in her tracks. After having her summer of concerts and tours “wiped out practically overnight”, the 21-year-old Cumbrian saxophonist — by some way the sparkiest new kid on the classical music block — has set up a “virtual scratch orchestra” to keep her fellow instrumentalists amused while socially distanced.
“I wanted to include as many people, young and old, as possible,” she says. “So I had parts for beginner strings and woodwind made, as well as more advanced material. Anyone can download the parts. And although the project has only been up and running a few days, the response has been incredible.”
Her project works simply