Proms In The Park
By Judith Schrut - Email: judith0777@gmail.com
For classical music lovers it doesn’t get much better than the BBC Promenade Concerts, better known as The Proms. A British national treasure for the past 120 years, the world’s greatest festival of classical music roars into London’s Royal Albert Hall mid-July, setting off 92 concerts and two months of non-stop musical feasting and culminating in that beloved tradition known as the Last Night of the Proms.
The original Proms’ promise, to create a joyous celebration of music and reach the widest possible audience, means there are plenty of affordable seats, with half price for under 18s and 1300 ‘promming’ (standing) tickets for every Prom at a bargain £5.
Every Prom season gets bigger, better and more imaginative. This year sees a gobsmacking choice of 46 orchestras, 53 conductors, 16 visiting ensembles, soloists, choirs and other performers from around the world and 32 premieres. There are adventurous Late Nights, Sunday Matinees to introduce audiences young and old to classical music, and 75 free ‘Extras’ like talks, family workshops and special events. Amongst many Prom treats are a Sherlock Holmes Prom, Asian and Bollywood Night, Life Story Prom with naturalist Sir David Attenborough, a Story of Swing evening and a full staging of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, with Welsh wonder Bryn Terfel re-invented as the impoverished but cheerful shtetl milkman.
The Proms love anniversaries and this year will celebrate Stephen Sondheim at 85, Frank Sinatra at 100, and composer Jean Sibelius at 150. Percussionist extraordinaire Dame Evelyn Glennie, best known for her moving performance at the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, marks her own 50th birthday with a musical party.
The Last Night of the Proms will be led by charismatic American conductor Marin Alsop, who so captivated British audiences two years ago when she became the first woman to conduct the Last Night.
Last Night celebrations, complete with traditional fancy dress, party poppers, balloons and flag-waving singalongs to ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, are always sold out many times over. That’s where Proms in the Park come in, created in 1996 so that the overwhelming numbers of final night fans won’t miss out on the fun. Now, in addition to the indoor Royal Albert Hall finale, audiences can choose from four open air spectacles around the UK. Impressive concerts in Belfast, Glasgow, Swansea and London’s Hyde Park bring the four UK nations together in song and spirit with the help of endlessly enthusiastic compere Sir Terry Wogan and live big screen linkups.
Hyde Park’s stellar headliners this year will be The Jacksons— founding members Jackie, Tito, Germain and Marlon— in tribute to little brother Michael. They will be joined by The Mavericks, trumpeteress Alison Balsom, celebrities, choirs and fireworks for the grand cross-country finale, as Prommers across the land sing, wave Union Jacks, pop poppers and let go all that British reserve.
But don’t worry if you can’t make it to the Last Night in person: join the party via giant video screens around the country or sing along by telly, tablet, smartphone, laptop or radio, thanks to the BBC.
BBC Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, 17 July-12 September 2015
Proms in the Park, 12 September 2015 www.bbc.co.uk/proms
Photo: Celebrating the Last Night of the BBC Proms, Proms in the Park. Photo copyright BBC - Mark Allan.