National Youth Chamber Choir revealed as one of four mystery Proms
Harriet Clifford
Friday, July 30, 2021
The BBC has also announced that an orchestra of freelance musicians will come together in a new venture for the festival.
Andy Staples
On the morning of the first night of the Proms, four ‘mystery Proms’ have been unveiled. This summer's programme of live classical music runs from 30 July to 11 September at the Royal Albert Hall.
On 20 August, National Youth Chamber Choir (NYCC) and the Britten Sinfonia will perform Mozart’s Requiem conducted by David Bates, as well as excerpts from operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau and an orchestral work by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
On 23 August, Catrin Finch (harp) and Seckou Keita (kora) will play together, and on 8 September, an orchestra of freelance musicians conducted by Mark Wigglesworth will perform Shostakovich and Mahler as a new Proms Festival Orchestra.
Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov will perform J.S. Bach in the fourth mystery Prom, taking place on the penultimate night of the festival (10 September).
David Pickard, director of the Proms said: ‘Programming responsively has been an exciting challenge for this year’s Proms. We held back four concerts in order to allow us to put together the final touches on a season that shows the breadth and talent we have in live music-making today.
‘We are very pleased to be able to engage so many outstanding freelance musicians to form our first Proms Festival Orchestra. Coming together for Mahler’s Fifth Symphony will be an extraordinary and moving experience given the tremendous challenges faced by freelance musicians throughout the pandemic.’
The full Proms programme and more information is available online.
