Proms 2 & 3: Ten Piece Prom, Royal Albert Hall

The Proms have a long history of engaging the young in classical music, but this year’s Ten Pieces Prom promises something unprecedented. Since last October, primary schools around the country have hosted the BBC ensembles for a series of workshops, encouraging children to engage with ten specially selected works and helping them to create their own compositions. This July, the Royal Albert Hall will play host to the scheme’s culmination. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, under conductor Thomas Sondergard, will run through all ten pieces over two concerts. CBBC stalwarts Barney Harwood (Blue Peter) and Dick and Dom (in da Bungalow) will present, explaining the music and bringing some light entertainment to proceedings.

Want to delve deeper into the BBC Proms 2015 lineup?


The ten pieces range from the baroque to the contemporary. Earliest on offer is Handel’s rousing choral anthem Zadok the Priest. There will be extracts from Mozart’s Horn Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Mussorgksy’s tone poem Night on Bare Mountain and Grieg’s rollicking Hall of the Mountain King will represent high romanticism, while Holst’s Mars will showcase that movement’s late grandeur.
Two modern classics – Britten’s Storm Interlude from Peter Grimes and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite – will be played alongside John Adams’ post-minimalist Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Finally, the talented British contemporary composer Anna Meredith’s Connect It, commissioned specially for the scheme, will feature its London premiere. As an introduction to the depth and range of the canon, as well as a run-through of spectacular ‘hit’ moments, the Ten Piece Proms should succeed on every level.

Seating for these concerts has sold out, but £5 Promming tickets will be available on both days.