Front Row Washington

Jess Gillam closed the 2018 BBC Proms in great style with three appearances in the world famous Last Night of the Proms – performing as part of Radio 2’s Proms in the Park before heading across to the Royal Albert Hall to join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis for Milhaud’s Scaramouche, and a duet with star baritone Gerald Finley. This was Jess’s fourth appearance at the festival following two performances in 2017 and a cameo at the 2018 BBC Young Musician Prom celebrating 40 years of the competition which brought her into the limelight back in 2016.

In June 2018 Jess made her international debut with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and her international appearances build rapidly this season including concerts with the Tampere Philharmonic, at l’Auditori Barcelona, a Swiss debut opening the season at the Argovia Philharmonic and a recital at the acclaimed Philip’s Collection series in Washington D.C. Jess programmes and presents shows on TV and radio and hosts the BBC Young Musician podcast with Sam Becker and Zeynep Özsuca. 

Thomas Weaver is an American pianist and composer currently based in Philadelphia. Weaver's playing has been hailed as displaying "sensitivity" and "deep resonance," as well as "incredible dexterity." He has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing in recitals both in the United States and abroad