- \n
- When are the BBC Proms on TV ?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But there is so much more to the Proms than just the big names on stage. Without the army of orchestral players, technicians, stewards and others who work tirelessly both behind and in front of stage, the event wouldn\u2019t even get off the ground. And as a collective whole, the Proms audience \u2013 especially the Promenaders in the Arena \u2013 are as much a part of the occasion as the musicians they have come to see.<\/p>\n
We talk to the people who, though rarely mentioned, really make the BBC Proms tick. As Proms veterans, they have all become part of the furniture at the Albert Hall, reuniting each July for another two months of devoted service, then heading their own separate ways in September with diaries firmly marked for the following year\u2026<\/p>\n
\n\n- \n
- 15 things we love about the BBC Proms<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The musician: Graham Bradshaw<\/h3>\n
At the Proms since\u2026 1978<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Image credit: John Millar<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n I joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> when I was 25. I thought I\u2019d do it for a year or two and gain some experience, but here I am 40 years later. It\u2019s such a fantastic, varied job with such a lovely group of people, and the Proms is one of the most exciting times of year for us. We often get to perform blockbuster programmes with particularly big conductors, so it\u2019s very exciting.<\/p>\n
- \n
- The 20 greatest conductors of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The conductors are all so different. G\u00fcnter Wand was very tetchy, liable to walk out at any moment, but in the concert he was totally in his own world and took us all with him. Bernard Haitink<\/a><\/strong> is always incredibly respectful and on our side \u2013 he\u2019s a team leader. They all get their results in such different ways.<\/p>\n
- \n
- What it was like to play under Bernard Haitink? London Philharmonic Orchestra musicians remember the great maestro<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
‘The Proms are in a different league to when I joined’<\/h4>\n
We usually only have two or three days of rehearsal before a Prom \u2013 British orchestras are famous for being able to sight-read and learn very quickly.<\/p>\n
The Proms are in a different league to when I joined and the orchestra is now in a much stronger playing position, so I feel extremely lucky to be here. There has been a steep upward trajectory to becoming a world-class orchestra. The Hall has changed too: it\u2019s much smarter and the backstage areas are vastly improved. It\u2019s a wonderful place to play nowadays.<\/p>\n
Favourite Prom: <\/b>Because I\u2019m co-principal cello, I don\u2019t usually get to do the \u2018Tom Bowling\u2019 solo in the British Sea Songs<\/i> on the Last Night of the Proms<\/a><\/strong>. One year our principal Susan Monks cut her finger very badly so I got the call up. She was standing backstage with a glass of champagne when I finished.<\/p>\n
The photographer: Chris Christodoulou<\/strong><\/h3>\n
At the Proms since\u2026 1981<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Proms](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/06\/JM5_4310_cmyk-61c3587.jpg\" "\\"Proms")
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Image credit: John Millar<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n My role has changed a lot since the early years, when I would come in and photograph only the big names like Daniel Barenboim<\/a><\/strong> and Bernard Haitink.<\/p>\n
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- Bernard Haitink: nine unmissable recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- ‘His music reflects the human struggle to better ourselves’: the composer who’s been Daniel Barenboim’s lifelong fascination<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Proms have been transformed and are now much more inclusive, and when we use new concepts and explore new themes, we need to photograph it, both for the archives and the press. The big conductors will always get coverage, but now we also look at new commissions and Proms first-timers, and there\u2019s much more of an emphasis on young and up-and-coming musicians.<\/p>\n
‘I’ve been described as \u2018stealthy\u2019<\/h4>\n
I use a big lens and a silencer on the camera and I dress all in black. I\u2019ve been described as \u2018stealthy\u2019. I need to position myself carefully \u2013 I know who the soloist is, how they stand, whether they stand up or downstream from the conductor.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s an 80-minute symphony, I\u2019m on my feet the whole time and following every second. It\u2019s particularly difficult for an oratorio<\/a><\/strong>, because the performers are getting up and down from their seats constantly and I can\u2019t miss anyone. During a season, I\u2019ll shoot anything up to 30,000 images.<\/p>\n
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- 15 people who made the Proms what it is today<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There\u2019s a certain flavour to the Proms that has remained the same. A Prom is a Prom, it\u2019s not a concert. There\u2019s a unique excitement that accompanies every season. We have the unique situation where people stand in the arena, which gives it a different flavour to other concerts. It\u2019s visually very different.<\/p>\n
Favourite Prom: <\/b>The Verdi Requiem<\/a><\/strong> in 2001, following the 9\/11 attacks. At the end of the concert, Daniele Gatti, who was conducting, said, \u2018To those of you who lost your lives, we offer you this requiem<\/a><\/strong>.\u2019 There was no applause \u2013 everyone just bowed their heads. It was incredibly emotional.<\/p>\n
The steward: Shirley Feshitan<\/h3>\n
At the Proms since\u20262003<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/JM5_4528_repro_cmyk-1-22d68f9-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n I was so looking forward to my first Prom because I had always watched it on television. When I saw the people queueing I was amazed, especially by those who buy season tickets \u2013 it was so different to anything I\u2019d come across before. I get to know the Prommers well, and we\u2019ve become friends. One or two have passed away and I went to their funerals.<\/p>\n
I love the addition of the Late Night Proms \u2013 they can be like a carnival. I\u2019m not musical at all \u2013 I can\u2019t play a tune, but I know a good one when I hear it. Bringing all these new styles of music in and including children and different groups of people has changed the essence of the Proms in such a great way.<\/p>\n
My favourite night of the Proms is always the First<\/strong> Night<\/strong><\/a>, because it\u2019s when I welcome the regular customers back and catch up on the last year. The Last Night of the Proms is also fun, but it\u2019s not a concert, it\u2019s a party.<\/p>\n
Favourite Prom:<\/strong> Daniel Barenboim conducting Beethoven\u2019s Ninth Symphony<\/strong><\/a> in 2012. When I went home after the concert I turned on the TV and he was at the Olympics opening ceremony. He\u2019d left the concert and gone straight there \u2013 I couldn\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n
The camera supervisor: Vince Spooner<\/strong><\/h3>\n
At the Proms since\u2026 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Proms](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/06\/JM5_4334_cmyk-d97c477.jpg\" "\\"Proms")
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Image credit: John Millar<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n It\u2019s all about teamwork at every level of the Proms, and certainly for the camera team, which makes it one of the most satisfying parts of the job. We get a run-through on the morning of the performance and that\u2019s it. With only one rehearsal, there\u2019s a lot of pressure, so we have to work together very closely.<\/p>\n
As a camera operator, you\u2019re so busy working on getting the right shots that often you can\u2019t lose yourself in the music. The best Proms to work on are the John Wilson Proms<\/a><\/strong> because the camera person always has a lot to concentrate on \u2013 they really keep you on your toes because there\u2019s so much going on.<\/p>\n
Favourite Prom: <\/b>Haydn<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Symphony No 100, ‘Military’ in 2009. A percussionist came onstage with a Jingling Johnny, which looked just like the instruments Morris dancers use!<\/p>\n
The studio manager: Susan Thomas<\/strong><\/h3>\n
At the Proms since\u2026 1982<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Proms](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/06\/JM5_4365_cmyk-5ffa573.jpg\" "\\"Proms")
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Image credit: John Millar<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n As a sound balancer, I\u2019m located in the big truck outside the Albert Hall with a big mixing desk. Studio managers are spread out, with one on the side of the stage and one with the presenter in the box. My job is to try to make the concerts sound even better than they do in the Albert Hall. I sit at the mixing desk and decide what mics are put out and I mix sounds for the broadcasts.<\/p>\n
I started out as a junior, moving mics around \u2013 I was the eyes and ears onstage. I then worked in the hall, balancing the sound of the presenter and the applause.<\/p>\n
In some ways the Proms haven\u2019t changed since I started. We still have an enormous number of the most superb musicians coming here, and the wonderful audiences are still the same. We have changed the way we work, though, as we\u2019ve switched from analogue to digital and moved to the truck as production has expanded.<\/p>\n
Favourite Prom: <\/b>Andr\u00e1s Schiff as soloist in Beethoven<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Emperor\u2019 Piano Concerto in 2016. It\u2019s very special when you have a musician of his standard, and you can be totally wrapped in the music.<\/p>\n
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- The greatest piano concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Prommer: Alex Weston<\/strong><\/h3>\n
At the Proms since\u2026 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Prommer](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/06\/JM5_4465_cmyk-87252b2.jpg\" "\\"Prommer")
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Image credit: John Millar<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n I\u2019m relatively new to the Proms scene but I have no doubt I\u2019ll be here until I\u2019m old and grey. The first Prom I went to was when I sang Tippett<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s A Child of our Time<\/a><\/strong><\/i> with the BBC Youth Choir. It was such an amazing experience \u2013 I\u2019d never even been to the Albert Hall before, so it completely blew my mind.<\/p>\n
My debut as a Prommer<\/a><\/strong> was for a semi-staged version of Richard Strauss<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Salome<\/i>. The climax when the music is really discordant and Salome lifts Jokanaan\u2019s head in the air was so powerful and has really stuck with me \u2013 I couldn\u2019t believe I could get to see performances of such a ridiculously high quality for so little money.<\/p>\n
Every year since, I finish work and cycle to the Albert Hall as fast as I can to get a queue ticket for whatever is on, and then get a quick beer (or a triple espresso on the Last Night) from the Imperial College bar next door before rejoining the queue.<\/p>\n
- \n
- How do you get tickets to the BBC Proms?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Favourite Prom: <\/b>Gerald Barry\u2019s Canada <\/i>in 2017. It\u2019s a piece I would never have discovered without the Proms, and it had such a visceral reaction from the audience \u2013 it was brilliant.<\/p>\n
\n\n- \n
- Last Nights of the Proms: which have been the best?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Six of the best\u2026 First Nights of the Proms<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- The history of the BBC Proms on TV<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Top image credit: BBC<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
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- Six of the best\u2026 First Nights of the Proms<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Last Nights of the Proms: which have been the best?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- How do you get tickets to the BBC Proms?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- The greatest piano concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- ‘His music reflects the human struggle to better ourselves’: the composer who’s been Daniel Barenboim’s lifelong fascination<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Bernard Haitink: nine unmissable recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- What it was like to play under Bernard Haitink? London Philharmonic Orchestra musicians remember the great maestro<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- The 20 greatest conductors of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- 15 things we love about the BBC Proms<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n