Last
Night of the Proms celebrations bigger than ever
·
Additional folksongs from around the UK to join Rule Britannia!
·
First Prom in the Park in Northern Ireland
·
Most ambitious weekend of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park events
·
First Blue Planet Prom in the Park
·
18 hours of live music in six events featuring more than 850 performers
across a wider geographical spread than ever
For
the first time the traditional Last Night of the Proms celebrations
are to include folksong arrangements from Ireland, Scotland and
Wales.
These
have been added to Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs, with
its final sung chorus Rule, Britannia!, and join Land of Hope and
Glory and Jerusalem.
The
new folksongs are Wood's own arrangements of the Scottish tune Charlie
is My Darling and the Welsh All through the Night; and from Ireland,
The Irish Tune from County Derry (commonly known as Danny Boy or
Londonderry Air) by Wood's friend and contemporary, the much-loved
Proms regular Percy Grainger.
As
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park takes the Last Night party to Belfast for
the first time, this innovation is a reflection of the increased
interest in the Proms from around the UK and looks forward to the
21st Century by keeping the old traditions fresh.
As
well as extending the repertoire, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms celebrates the end of
the two-month festival with the most extensive programme of events
ever.
In
just two days more than 850 artists - as diverse as Terry Wogan,
Lesley Garrett, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Leonard Slatkin and Pop
Idols Will and Gareth - perform over 18 hours of live music in six
separate events.
These
include the Last Night parties in the Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park,
Gateshead and Belfast on Saturday 14 September, as well as
the CÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Prom in the Park and the brand-new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Blue Planet Prom
in the Park presented by Sir David Attenborough on 15 September
in Hyde Park.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Proms brings the 108th season to a jubilant conclusion in the Royal
Albert Hall under the baton of Leonard Slatkin as outdoor audiences
in Belfast, Hyde Park and Gateshead link with those in the Albert
Hall via large screens for the traditional highlights of the Last
Night celebrations.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Symphony Orchestra is joined by Broadway star Audra McDonald
and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes in a programme which celebrates the
Queen's Golden Jubilee and the contrasting centenaries of William
Walton and Richard Rodgers, with You'll Never Walk Alone from Carousel
bringing a new opportunity for audience participation.
Terry
Wogan hosts ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park for the seventh year.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra is joined by a range of stars from soprano
Lesely Garrett and tenor José Cura to The Bootleg Beatles,
award-winning Jazz Jamaica All Stars and the versatile Hungarian
violinist Lakatos, acclaimed as "the greatest Gypsy fiddler
alive"
following his ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms debut last year.
The
musical party in Hyde Park does not end on Saturday evening. Younger
audiences can join CÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Fearne Cotton and Blue Peter's Simon Thomas
for Sunday's CÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Prom in the Park, a packed celebration of music
for children.
Pop
Idols Will Young and Gareth Gates perform live on stage with the
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Philharmonic and the line-up includes a wide range of artists
from acclaimed South African dance troupe Umoja to 12- year-old
violinist Jennifer
Pike, who this year became the youngest competitor to win ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Young Musician of the Year.
The
Proms in the Park weekend concludes with a brand new event - the
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Blue Planet Prom in the Park.
This
concert takes place on the evening of Sunday 15 September and brings
the spell-binding footage from The Blue Planet, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s acclaimed
natural history series, to gigantic screens in Hyde Park.
Sir
David Attenborough and series producer Alastair Fothergill provide
narration and George Fenton conducts the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra in
a live performance of his BAFTA award-winning soundtrack.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Proms in the Park was launched by Nicholas Kenyon, Director of the
Proms, in 1996.
It
is now in its seventh year and continues to be a colourful conclusion
to the season's programme, attracting capacity audiences to London's
Hyde Park and other venues throughout the UK.
Nicholas
Kenyon said: "The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms is one of the world's greatest
music festivals and now more than ever we are making it available
and accessible to the widest possible audience through Proms in
the Park.
"I
hope this will be an inspiring and uplifting weekend of music-making
as tradition returns to the Last Night of the Proms."
Bill
Morris, Project Director, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Live Events, said: "We are thrilled
that ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park has extended its reach to Northern Ireland.
"This
demonstrates
the commitment of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park to reaching
as broad an audience as possible in this unique musical celebration.
"We
warmly welcome all audiences in Donegall Square to the Last Night
and all those listening to the live broadcast on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Ulster."
The
concerts are broadcast across ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio and Television.
Radio
3 broadcasts the Last Night of the Proms live from the Royal Albert
Hall; Radio 2 broadcasts live coverage from Hyde Park whilst Proms
in the Park in Belfast and Gateshead are broadcast locally.
Televised
highlights of all three ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park are shown as part
of the Last Night live coverage on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ ONE and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ TWO.
Digital
satellite viewers have an interactive finale to the Last Night for
the first time, with programme notes and texts for the sung items
available.
Notes
to Editors
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms website provides full details for each concert: .
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Proms press pack
Renault
is the event sponsor of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Proms in the Park in London and Gateshead,
CÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Prom in the Park and Blue Planet Prom in the Park.
|
