Award-winning saxophonist Amy Dickson is fast-becoming one of the UK’s most sought-after classical talents.
Since arriving on UK shores from Sydney, Australia, she has spearheaded something of a classical saxophone revival, thanks to her unique take on the genre and her distinctive approach to the instrument.
Her third album Dusk & Dawn achieved pole position in the UK classical charts last year, while she also took home the coveted Breakthrough Artist of the Year prize at the 2013 Classic BRIT Awards.
For her latest album A Summer Place (released through Sony Classical on 25 August), she draws on the languid theme music Hollywood and French cinema's heyday of the forties, fifties and sixties.
The album’s title track has since been remixed by producer Guy Sigsworth (Björk, Goldie, Madonna), in a novel collaboration for both talents.
We caught up with Amy to learn more…
I have been making music since…
I started playing the piano when I was two and the saxophone when I was six.
My music is…
Very varied. I love playing contemporary classical repertoire as much as music from any other period. I am also lucky enough to have had a lot of music written especially for me, which is a great honour. The nature of the instrument does mean that a great deal of the music I play is jazz-influenced, which I love, of course!
You'll like me if you listen to...
1960s film soundtracks such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Alfie and The Thomas Crown Affair. For my new album, A Summer Place, we tried to capture the elegance and sophistication of that magical era with shimmering string arrangements.
My favourite venue is…
I absolutely love playing in the Sydney Opera House, as I'm from Sydney originally. For acoustics, it would be hard to beat the Edwardian elegance of the beautiful Wigmore Hall in London.
Music is important because…
I could not live without music! It has the potential to be such a positive influence on people's lives and on society in general, and we can see from the work of some of the amazing education projects currently on offer - such as Sistema England - that it absolutely can bring about social change and turn around lives.
My biggest inspiration is…
I am always inspired by all of the wonderful musicians I get to play with while on my travels. They are so dedicated and it’s always great fun when we get together before and after a concert. I can learn so much from musicians from other countries and other cultures - music really does transcend all boundaries.
If I wasn’t making music I’d be…
Totally lost! I do feel very fortunate to have found the one thing I'm meant to do and I am so grateful to my family, friends and to my wonderful teachers for having helped me along the way
In 10 years’ time I want to be...
I do hope to have a long career in music. Hopefully I’ll be able to inspire ever more young people to consider taking up an instrument and encourage them to try to make a difference in the world through music. I hope to continue to commission new works and to have new works written for me, so that the repertoire for the saxophone becomes even greater. That would be a wonderful legacy!
http://www.amydickson.com/
Since arriving on UK shores from Sydney, Australia, she has spearheaded something of a classical saxophone revival, thanks to her unique take on the genre and her distinctive approach to the instrument.
Her third album Dusk & Dawn achieved pole position in the UK classical charts last year, while she also took home the coveted Breakthrough Artist of the Year prize at the 2013 Classic BRIT Awards.
For her latest album A Summer Place (released through Sony Classical on 25 August), she draws on the languid theme music Hollywood and French cinema's heyday of the forties, fifties and sixties.
The album’s title track has since been remixed by producer Guy Sigsworth (Björk, Goldie, Madonna), in a novel collaboration for both talents.
We caught up with Amy to learn more…
I have been making music since…
I started playing the piano when I was two and the saxophone when I was six.
My music is…
Very varied. I love playing contemporary classical repertoire as much as music from any other period. I am also lucky enough to have had a lot of music written especially for me, which is a great honour. The nature of the instrument does mean that a great deal of the music I play is jazz-influenced, which I love, of course!
You'll like me if you listen to...
1960s film soundtracks such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Alfie and The Thomas Crown Affair. For my new album, A Summer Place, we tried to capture the elegance and sophistication of that magical era with shimmering string arrangements.
My favourite venue is…
I absolutely love playing in the Sydney Opera House, as I'm from Sydney originally. For acoustics, it would be hard to beat the Edwardian elegance of the beautiful Wigmore Hall in London.
Music is important because…
I could not live without music! It has the potential to be such a positive influence on people's lives and on society in general, and we can see from the work of some of the amazing education projects currently on offer - such as Sistema England - that it absolutely can bring about social change and turn around lives.
My biggest inspiration is…
I am always inspired by all of the wonderful musicians I get to play with while on my travels. They are so dedicated and it’s always great fun when we get together before and after a concert. I can learn so much from musicians from other countries and other cultures - music really does transcend all boundaries.
If I wasn’t making music I’d be…
Totally lost! I do feel very fortunate to have found the one thing I'm meant to do and I am so grateful to my family, friends and to my wonderful teachers for having helped me along the way
In 10 years’ time I want to be...
I do hope to have a long career in music. Hopefully I’ll be able to inspire ever more young people to consider taking up an instrument and encourage them to try to make a difference in the world through music. I hope to continue to commission new works and to have new works written for me, so that the repertoire for the saxophone becomes even greater. That would be a wonderful legacy!
http://www.amydickson.com/
