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After leading the BBC Proms<\/a><\/strong> for nearly a decade, David Pickard<\/a><\/strong> has decided to step down as the event’s director. He will remain in post until October 2024, overseeing the 2024 Proms and planning for future seasons.<\/p> David was appointed director of the BBC Proms in 2015, to fulfil the BBC\u2019s mission to bring the best classical music to the widest possible audience.\u00a0Over the years he has expanded the breadth of the Proms, reaching new audiences across the UK and increasing the diversity of artists, composers and collaborators. <\/p> The 2023 BBC Proms<\/a><\/strong>, for example, featured the first ever weekend-long Proms festival outside London at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead. This was also the first year in Proms history that both the First Night<\/a><\/strong> and Last Night of the Proms<\/a><\/strong> were conducted by women (Dalia Stasevska<\/a><\/strong> and Marin Alsop<\/a><\/strong> respectively). <\/p> It also featured a notably broad range of classical music, from the UK premiere of Gy\u00f6rgy Kurt\u00e1g\u2019s opera\u00a0Endgame<\/em>\u00a0and Aurora Orchestra<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s memorised performance of Stravinsky<\/a><\/strong>‘s The<\/em>\u00a0Rite of Spring<\/em><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to concerts celebrating Northern Soul and Bollywood.<\/p> Under David\u2019s tenure, some of the world\u2019s most exciting musicians and ensembles have made their BBC Proms debuts, from cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason<\/a><\/strong> and soprano\u00a0Lise Davidsen<\/a><\/strong> to Chineke!<\/a><\/strong> and the Sinfonia of London.\u00a0His time in charge has also seen visits from prestigious orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic<\/a><\/strong>, Vienna Philharmonic, Budapest Festival<\/a><\/strong> and Boston Symphony Orchestras. There have also been BBC commissions from some of the world\u2019s most acclaimed living composers, including Thomas Ad\u00e8s, Hildur Gu\u00f0nad\u00f3ttir, George Benjamin, Hannah Kendall and Judith Weir. <\/p> David Pickard says:\u00a0‘It has been an immense honour and privilege to run the world’s greatest classical music festival alongside an incredible team, working with many of the most exciting orchestras, musicians and artists on the planet. By the end of next summer I will have planned and delivered nine Proms seasons and it feels like the right time to move on and explore new projects. After the critical and box office success of the 2023 Proms, I look forward to delivering one more season in 2024.’<\/p>