Music / Classical
Proms to come to Bristol for first time
The Proms are coming to Bristol for the first time in a historic classical coup for the city.
Four concerts will take place at Bristol Beacon in August as part of the recently introduced ‘Proms Across the UK’ strand of the annual event.
The Proms was founded in 1895 with the first ever ‘disco prom’ taking place this year at the Royal Albert Hall.
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A chamber music Prom was held at St George’s in 2022 but this is the first time that full-scale orchestral Proms concerts will be happening in Bristol.
The four concerts over the August bank holiday weekend will feature Paraorchestra; the BBC Singers; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with soloist Evelyn Glennie; and a special CBeebies Prom with Kwamé Ryan, the Southbank Sinfonia and Andy Day.
Bristol Beacon artistic director, Todd Wills, said: “Being able to play host to the iconic BBC Proms is an enormous honour for us.
“Our beautifully transformed auditorium now offers some of the best acoustics of any venue in the UK, so to be able to use it for the greatest classical music festival in the world is an absolute dream come true.”
Paraorchestra played the opening night of the Bristol Beacon’s main hall in November 2023 – photo: Bristol Beacon
Paraorchestra chief executive, Jonathan Harper, added: “We’re thrilled to be combining the world premiere of The Virtuous Circle with our debut at the BBC Proms.
“It is extra special that we have the opportunity to first showcase this concert in our home city and utilise the new technical flexibility available at our partner venue Bristol Beacon.
“This important milestone for Paraorchestra builds on our reputation for creating ambitious new work that combines innovative approaches to live performance and the audience experience.”
For more information, visit www.bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/bbc-proms-2024
Main photo: Bristol Beacon
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