The BBC Proms in the North East has drawn to a close, after a spectacular four days of world-class music performed across Gateshead and Sunderland.
More than 6,270 people attended the four-day festival – the busiest BBC Proms in the North East yet – including 4,563 experiencing the Proms for the first time. Concertgoers travelled from all over the UK – from London, Belfast and Glasgow, to Carlisle, Manchester and Cardiff – to experience the BBC Proms in the North East.
Listens to BBC Radio 3 on BBC Sounds were up by over 25% week-on-week in Sunderland. Other areas in the North East such as Newcastle, Cleveland and Durham all saw increases too. All BBC Proms from the weekend were broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and are available on BBC Sounds. In a historic first, The Glasshouse will also be the first venue outside of London to feature televised BBC Proms, with the two Royal Northern Sinfonia concerts set to be on BBC TV: Bach and Mendelssohn at the Proms will be on BBC Four on Friday 1 August at 8pm, and JADE & Royal Northern Sinfonia, which was on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday, will be on BBC TV later this year.
This year’s expanded weekend marks a cultural milestone for the North East. What began as a single concert and the first-ever live BBC Proms broadcast beyond London has grown into a regional festival of national significance – built on a long-term partnership between The Glasshouse and the BBC Proms. It reflects something bigger happening in the region: cultural organisations working together to share extraordinary music with more people, in more places.
Audiences were treated to a joyful, wide-ranging programme. North East native JADE made a spectacular homecoming debut with her home orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, marking a heartwarming return to a stage she previously performed on, aged 15. She was supported by another standout regional talent Finn Forster. Royal Northern Sinfonia were at the heart of the weekend, leading a breathtaking 200-strong classical epic and a joyful family jamboree. A CBeebies Prom brought little ones and their families into the heart of the festival, making the most of the accessible programme. Folk and jazz performances took the form of mesmerising folk songs of the Black British experience in The Sorrow Songs with Angeline Morrison and the first ever Sunderland Prom at The Fire Station with a special edition of BBC Radio 3’s ‘Round Midnight with Soweto Kinch, featuring genre-defying trumpeter Theo Croker, North East talent Rivkala and the Joe Webb Trio Saturday night’s Prom showed Royal Northern Sinfoni in full force, joined by over 200 singers from across the region in Mendelssohn’s majestic Lobgesang. Conducted by Music Director, Dinis Sousa, the orchestra and choruses delivered a rousing, large-scale performance.
Beyond the seven ticketed events, there were free events including DJ sets, The Glasshouse’s BBC Introducing Stage, family arts and crafts, and pop up performances.
Wendy Smith, creative director at The Glasshouse, said: “This weekend has been a landmark moment for our region: a celebration of homegrown talent, national collaboration and music of the highest quality. From Soweto Kinch and Theo Croker in Sunderland to JADE’s extraordinary collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia in Gateshead, BBC Proms in the North East is showing what’s possible when you invest in partnership and creativity. What began four years ago as a new kind of collaboration has grown into something bigger – a way to show the creativity and ambition that defines the North East and share it with audiences across the country.
We’ve always been a musical region in the North East and Tees Valley. Music runs through people’s lives, part of their identity, wellbeing and increasingly the region’s economic future. This festival is proof of the impact we can make when we work together. And we’re only just getting started.”
Sam Jackson, Controller, Radio 3 and BBC Proms, said: “The success of this weekend reflects the passion audiences in the North East have for the BBC Proms and live music. Bringing together world-class local musicians and international artists made for a compelling festival, and one that was accessible to all with Promming tickets at just £8 and every note broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds. Huge thanks to our partners, the Glasshouse International Centre for Music, The Fire Station and of course, Royal Northern Sinfonia.
The BBC Proms continues across the UK with a three-day residency at Bristol Beacon from 22 August, a special Prom in Belfast marking the centenary of Radio 4’s popular Shipping Forecast on 8 August, and a Proms debut in Bradford, with five-time Grammy Award-winner Angélique Kidjo, on 7 September.”
Photo: JADE, Thomas Jackson/Tynesight Media
