"She makes the trumpet sing with an irresistible exuberance and eloquence."
- Richard Morrison, The Times, September 2008

Recently crowned 'Female Artist of the Year' for the second time at the Classic BRITs, Alison Balsom has cemented an international reputation as one of classical music's great ambassadors and is ranked among the most distinctive and ground-breaking musicians on the international circuit today. Balsom has also been honoured with numerous awards by Classic FM, Gramophone and Echo Klassik.

September 2009 saw Alison headline one of classical music's most celebrated concerts - The Last Night of the BBC Proms - which reached its biggest ever global television audience of an estimated 200 million. In December 2010 Balsom went on to make her US television debut with the Orchestra of St Luke's on The Late Show with David Letterman - a platform few classical artists have gained access to.

Balsom's highly distinctive sound earned her much recognition in her early career when she mainly reached her audience through radio broadcasts under the auspices of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. While represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust, Alison caught the ear of EMI Classics with whom she records exclusively. Her internationally celebrated Bach Trumpet and Organ disc of 2005 was quickly followed by 'Caprice' which won her further critical acclaim. Her third album, featuring the great pillars of the trumpet repertoire, the concertos of Haydn and Hummel, firmly established her as one of the world's leading trumpeter. Alison's latest release, 'Italian Concertos', which became EMI Classics biggest selling album of 2010, includes her own arrangements of Italian Baroque Concertos, originally written for violin and oboe.

In addition to transcribing and arranging existing works for her instrument, Alison is increasingly active in commissioning new works for trumpet. In February 2011 she gave the world premiere performance of James MacMillan's Seraph at Wigmore Hall, London and she will join deFilharmonie in March 2012 for the world premiere of Kalevi Aho's Trumpet Concerto at the De Roma Festival, Antwerp.

Recent season highlights include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Philharmonia Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Toronto Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, Wiener Symphoniker, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, BBC Philharmonic, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Alison will embark on major international tours with I Musici di Roma, the Scottish Ensemble, Kremerata Baltica, Kammerorchester Basel and Concerto Köln in 10/11 and beyond..

Alison studied trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music, the Paris Conservatoire, and with Håkan Hardenberger. She was previously a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Alison was a concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musician competition in 1998 and received the Feeling Musique Prize for quality of sound in the 4th Maurice André International Trumpet Competition. She is Visiting Professor of Trumpet to the Guildhall School of Music. Alison performs a wide range of recital and concerto repertoire, from Albinoni to Zimmermann and performs on both modern and baroque trumpets.

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