BBC Music Magazine speaks to Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson about the music that’s shaped her life, from the Spanish piano music she listened to in the car as a child to Philip Glass’s violin transcriptions, which helped her learn how to circular breathe.
Sydney-born Amy Dickson rose to fame in the UK after she became the first saxophonist to win the Gold Medal at the Royal Overseas League Competition in 2004. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to commissioning new music and writing her own transcription of existing works, such as Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto, a recording for which she is best known. In this past season alone, she was scheduled to give premieres of works by Roderick Williams, Eric Whitacre, Ross Edwards, Jessica Wells and Richard Blackford, just to name a few. As well as performing across the world as a soloist, she also founded the ‘Take a Breath’ programme, designed to help young children learn breathing techniques to help with stress.
She met our editorial assistant Freya Parr at our studio here in Bristol before the UK lockdown began.
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Listen to Amy's musical choices here: