Alison Louise Balsom, Lady Mendes, OBE (born 7 October 1978 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is an English trumpet soloist, arranger and music educator. She began trumpet lessons at age seven while attending school in Royston, played in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from age 15, and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2001 with first-class honours, and later at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the Conservatoire de Paris with Håkan Hardenberger. She has been a professional solo classical trumpeter since 2001, signing to EMI Classics (later Warner Classics), and announced her retirement from concert performance following the 2025 BBC Proms.

Balsom is widely regarded as the most celebrated classical trumpet soloist of her generation, winning Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards, three Classic BRIT Awards and three German Echo Awards, and appearing as soloist at the BBC Last Night of the Proms in 2009 and 2025. She was appointed OBE in 2016 for services to music. Much of her recorded output, including her album Sound the Trumpet: Royal Music of Purcell and Handel, has centred on trumpet transcriptions of Baroque and Italian violin repertoire, helping to expand and popularise the modern trumpet’s concert repertoire.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Balsom