BBC - Symphony Orchestra

BBC Proms Out + About & Radio 3 Making Tracks

The Hexagon, Reading
Friday 16th June, 2006

The BBC Symphony Orchestra came to Reading for four weeks of music making during June. Their Berkshire residency culminated in two spectacular concerts on Friday 16 June at the Hexagon - a Making Tracks schools concert involving 1,100 children, followed by an evening Proms Out + About family concert, with an audience of over 1,200.

Over the four weeks, BBC Symphony Orchestra players visited over 2,500 children in 16 Berkshire schools, and the first ever BBC Proms Family Orchestra was launched. The family orchestra, formed of nearly fifty Reading family members, gave its debut performance at the evening Proms Out + About concert, with a guest appearance from presenter Dave Benson Phillips.

During the first and final pieces of the Proms Out + About concert, Young Berkshire Maestros performed side-by-side with BBC Symphony Orchestra players. Many of these young musicians sacrificed precious GCSE and 'A' Level revision time to experience the rare opportunity to perform with a world-class orchestra!

BBC Proms Out + About, now in its fourth year, aims to give people the chance to hear a live orchestra and experience the power of a world-class orchestra, often for the first time. The free concerts break down the barriers associated with concert-going, and give audiences the chance to interact with the musicians. The scheme was first launched by John Adams and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Brixton Academy in 2003. There followed concerts at the Hackney Empire, Hammersmith Town Hall and Alexandra Palace.

BBCSO Making Tracks, Jun 2006 (credit: Simon Jay Price)

Angellica Bell presenting the Making Tracks concert