Photo: Jen Owens
Alec Frank-Gemmill
Half-German, half-English, Alec Frank-Gemmill grew up in the United Kingdom and studied in Cambridge and Berlin. He is widely recognised for pushing the boundaries of the French horn, whether by commissioning new music, making transcriptions of chamber music or through historically-informed performance practice. Alec now divides his time between orchestral playing, chamber music, concertos and conducting.
Alec was a member of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist scheme from 2014–16, often appearing as a soloist with the BBC orchestras, including in performances of rarely-heard repertoire by Ethel Smyth, Malcolm Arnold and Charles Koechlin. He was Principal horn of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for ten years and took up the same position with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in October 2019.
With the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Alec performed concertos by Mozart (on the natural horn), Ligeti, Strauss and Schumann. His recording of Strauss’s First Concerto was named Disc of the Week on the BBC’s Record Review programme. He has also recorded four albums for the BIS label, thanks to the support of the Borletti–Buitoni Trust.
Often invited as a guest principal horn, Alec has frequently appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He also performs as part of period-instrument groups and is director of Odin Ensemble, a Gothenburg-based group which plays on instruments from around 1900.
In 2023 Alec was soloist with the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester in Berlin’s Philharmonie. He also received a scholarship from Sweden’s Stena Stiftelse in recognition of “an artistry in constant development and deepening”. For the last few years Alec has been shifting focus to conducting. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. After a highly successful debut in the north of Sweden with the Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra, he will direct concerts next season in Italy, Finland and the UK.
Programme
22.7.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875—1912):
Nonet in F minor, Op. 2 (1894)
22.7.
Franz Berwald (1796—1868):
Quartet in E flat, Op. 1 for piano and winds (1819)
Orsino Ensemble
20.7.
Cecilia Damström (1988):
Wind Quintet 'Raakku' (2026, commissioned by Kuhmo Chamber Music, premiere)
20.7.
Jean Françaix (1912—1997):
L'Heure du Berger for wind quintet and piano (1947)
21.7.
Antonín Dvořák (1841—1904):
Serenade in D minor, Op. 44 (1878, arr. for wind quintet and strings by František Hertl)
22.7.
Antonín Reicha (1770—1836):
Lento. Allegro moderato from Wind Quintet in E flat, Op. 88 No. 2 (1818)
23.7.
Valerie Coleman (1970):
Danza from Concerto Afro-Cuban for wind quintet (2001)
23.7.
Mark Simpson (1988):
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows for wind quintet (2024)
23.7.