Nicholas Yonge Society - Gemma Rosefield and Simon Lepper

At just 25 years of age, cellist Gemma Rosefield has already been described as a “mesmerising national treasure” and a ‘phenomenal talent”. She’s also clocked up a string of awards: First prize in the European Music for Youth Competition, the Making Music Young Concerts Award, the Prix Academie Maurice Ravel, and most recently the Pierre Fournier Award. With “delightful good looks” to boot, it is easy to see why she has been attracting a good deal of attention. I talk to Rosefield and find out where it all started. “I first picked up a cello at a friend’s house when I was eight and loved the sound”, she tells me, “I just found myself drawn to it”.

As she began to learn, her inspiration was caught by Jacqueline Du Pre - the influence of which is evident in Rosefield’s decision to give multiple performances of Elgar’s Cello concerto. Asked how she keeps it fresh, she says “I try to bring something a little different to its performance each time I play the work”. But she balks at the suggestion that it is through lack of choice. “There is a huge body of music available for the cellist... and the great cellists of today such as Rostropovich have ensured a regular supply of new works”. Tonight - her debut in Lewes - Rosefield will be playing the classics in a programme which includes Beethoven and Chopin. She will be accompanied by Simon Lepper who has drawn many of his own accolades, and with whom she studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. ER