Conductor Jessica Cottis To Premiere Major New Works Leading Into 2019

The coming few months sees Australian-born, London based, conductor Jessica Cottis focus on one side of her musical life when she gives a series of world premieres of major new works leading up and into 2019. Cottis's innate musicality, intellectual rigour and dynamism on the podium have gained her international attention with long-running relationships with some of the world's leading orchestras and ensembles.

Alongside her performances of core repertoire, Cottis has also devoted a great deal of time and energy to performing new music: "There's a particular thrill of working on a new score when the ink is barely dry on the page. Those first moments of looking through, starting to discover a work's beauty, complexities, and personality. It's a wonderful opening up of possibilities."

This Friday Cottis returns to conduct the London Sinfonietta (after premiering Philip Venables's The Gender Agenda with them in 2017) to give two world premieres: Mark Bowden's Sapiens, a concerto for saxophone and ensemble, takes inspiration from Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, and Colin Matthew's As Time Returns which sets words by Czech poet Ivan Blatný.

Cottis then starts work on the first opera production to open the Royal Opera House's redeveloped Linbury Theatre, Gavin Higgins's The Monstrous Child (opening February 21st). Higgins's first opera is an adaptation by bestselling author Francesca Simon of her own darkly-humorous novel of the same name, focusing on the myth of Hel, the teenage daughter of Norse god Loki, and the prophecy surrounding his other monstrous children.

Combining puppetry, Norse mythology and a stellar cast featuring seasoned Royal Opera singers (including Graeme Broadbent and Tom Randle) as well as up-and-coming singers such as Marta Fontanals-Simmons and Dan Shelvey, Cottis conducts the Aurora Orchestra through Higgins's bold and imaginative score. This marks Cottis's second engagement with the Royal Opera House, having conducted the world premiere of Na'ama Zisser's Mamzer Bastard at the Hackney Empire in their 2017/18 season.

In January Cottis premieres a new commission by Errolyn Wallen MBE with Royal Northern Sinfonia, touring venues in Darlington, Gateshead, Leeds and Kendal; joined by Cottis regular partner saxophonist and BBC Young Musician Jess Gillam, who performs Milhaud's Scaramouche after her critically-acclaimed performance of the piece at 2018's Last Night of the Proms), the programme also includes works by Debussy, Stravinsky and Villa-Lobos.

Cottis and Gillam then return to the recording studio to finish sessions for Gillam's debut album for Decca.

Cottis's star has been rising steadily over the last few years, garnering a reputation as one of the most exciting and intelligent young conductors working today. Having received mentoring from legendary conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Donald Runnicles, Cottis has forged an international career working with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra (of which she was previously Assistant Conductor) and more. She was appointed both Assistant Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Fellow in Conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in the same month that she graduated the postgraduate conducting course at the Royal Academy of Music, having studied with Colin Metters and Sir Colin Davis.

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